Mavericks top Timberwolves for 12th straight

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Just when Dallas needed it most, Shawn Marion returned to the high-scoring form that has been absent all season.

That’s been the story of this remarkable run for the Mavericks.

Marion had a season-high 29 points and 14 rebounds and the Mavericks stretched the league’s longest active winning streak to 12 straight games with a 125-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

“I’ve done that before,” Marion said with a chuckle about his monster line. “That’s easy.”

What isn’t so easy is the unselfishness he’s shown this season. Marion has averaged at least 17 points a game seven times in his career, but he has taken a reduced role on offense this season in order to focus more on the defensive end. Marion entered the game averaging a modest 11.5 points a game and had a season high of 18 before Monday night’s outburst.

“Every week I tell him how important he is to us and how much as a coach I appreciate what he’s done this year in terms of changing his game around,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s the guy that’s made the biggest adjustment of any of the new guys that we’ve got and it’s showing up in wins and losses.”

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Caron Butler had 23 for Dallas, which has flourished since acquiring Butler and Brendan Haywood from the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline.

The Mavericks (44-21) haven’t lost since Feb. 16 at Oklahoma City and have climbed into second place in the Western Conference, not far behind the Los Angeles Lakers (46-18).

Al Jefferson had 36 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota in his return from a two-game suspension because of a DWI arrest.

But the Timberwolves committed 26 turnovers and lost their sixth straight and 12th in the last 13 games. Wolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn had eight of those turnovers and the Mavs turned all those mistakes into 32 points.

“A lot of it was just careless mistakes,” Jefferson said. “We just didn’t take care of the ball. We’ve just been kind of struggling with that all year.”

Things got testy in the fourth quarter when Wolves forward Ryan Hollins was ejected after hitting Nowitzki in the head with a forearm shot.

Nowitzki was not hurt on the play, but it was the second confrontation of the game for Hollins, who tangled with DeShawn Stevenson in the first quarter.

“Hollins is a little out of control, but hey, it happens out there,” Nowitzki said with a shrug.

Hollins was not available for comment after the game, but coach Kurt Rambis said he didn’t think the act was malicious.

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