Dirk, Mavs close third strong, lead 85-80

February, 17, 2011
2/17/11
11:37
PM CT
Will the Mavericks go into the All-Star break on a high or thinking they let one get away? Dallas and Phoenix have kept it close since the Mavs led by 10 late in the second quarter, but couldn't hold it before halftime.

They'll head into the final 12 minutes leading 85-80 having ended the third with nine unanswered points.

Jason Kidd hit his first 3-pointer of the game with about a minute to go and Dirk Nowitzki (game-high 26 points) buried his second and then hit Shawn Marion with a pretty pass for a dunk during the late run as Dallas went to a small lineup that saw Nowitzki playing the five.

DeShawn Stevenson made the most of his time with a couple buckets in the third that prevented the Suns from going up by more than three points at a time.

It will be interesting to see how coach Rick Carlisle plays his rotation in the fourth quarter with J.J. Barea out ill. Will Roddy Beaubois see crunch-time minutes if there are crunch-time minutes to be played?
Jeff Caplan joined ESPNDallas.com in December 2009. Jeff covers the Mavericks, Rangers and colleges. He has a wealth of experience in the area, covering multiple beats in his 11-plus years with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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TEAM LEADERS

POINTS
Dirk Nowitzki
PTS AST STL MIN
21.6 2.2 0.7 33.5
OTHER LEADERS
ReboundsS. Marion 7.4
AssistsJ. Kidd 5.5
StealsJ. Kidd 1.7
BlocksB. Wright 1.3

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