Surging Mavs trim struggling new-look Magic

Los Angeles (dpa) - The Dallas Mavericks will enjoy a much-deserved five-day Christmas break, while the struggling newlook Orlando Magic will be working in the gym trying to figure things out.

Caron Butler scored 20 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 17 and the visiting Mavericks held off the Magic, 105-99 on Tuesday night for their 16th victory in the last 17 games. “It was an important game for us,” said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, whose club resumes play on Monday at Oklahoma City. “We wanted to get momentum going into the break.” The game marked a milestone for Nowitzki, who passed legendary Larry Bird for 25th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Afterwards, the German received a congratulatory text message from the Hall of Famer. Tyson Chandler added 16 points and Jason Terry contributed 13 off the bench for Dallas (23-5) which moved to 10-1 on the road after sweeping the Florida road trip by snapping Miami’s 12-game run and winning at Orlando for the fifth straight time.

“This is a huge trip for us,” Chandler said. “After a tough win in Miami, to come down to Orlando and get a win on back-to-back nights, where we knew they would be pumped up is huge for our confidence; it’s huge for our momentum.” Dwight Howard had 26 points with 23 rebounds, while J.J. Redick scored 21 for Orlando (16-12) losers of four straight and eight of its last nine games.

With no time for a practice, Orlando has dropped two in a row since acquiring Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark following Saturday’s blockbuster trade with Phoenix and Washington. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy explained the difficulties of integrating new players into a team, especially during the season. “It’s not easy when a guy goes to a new team and he’s got all of training camp,” he said.

“Now you’re talking about guys coming in 26 games into the year. They still haven’t practised together. “Nobody wants to hear it, but it’s going to take some time and I’m not talking about two days either. We’re back to square one.” Orlando faces conference leaders San Antonio on Thursday and Boston on Christmas Day. Dallas led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter and 97-89 before Howard hit two free throws and Richardson buried a three to make it a three-point game with 56.6 seconds left.

Terry nailed a 20-footer with 38 seconds remaining, but Turkoglu countered with two free throws. The Magic fouled Shawn Marion, who made both from the stripe. After Richardson hit another triple, Nowitzki sank a pair of foul shots for a 103-99 advantage at the 24 second mark. Richardson had his threepoint try rim out, and Terry converted two more from the line to further the Magic’s frustrations. “Right now, we’re not worried about these last two games,” Arenas said.

“We’re worried about four months from now and where we’re going to be. It’s a long season and we’re upbeat about what the future holds for us.”