Lowly Mavericks power past Bulls
DALLAS - Wesley Matthews scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half in the Dallas Mavericks' 107-82 victory over the Chicago Bulls 107-82 on Saturday night.
Harrison Barnes scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half to help Dallas improve to 4-15.
Chicago was coming off a 111-105 victory over defending champion Cleveland on Friday night, the Bulls only win in their last four. Jimmy Butler led Chicago with 26 points.
Barnes powered the Mavericks to a 17-point first-quarter lead.
Dwight Powell (17) and rookie Dorian Finney-Smith (11) had career highs in scoring, and Deron Williams had a season-high 15 assists.
Neither team scored in the first 2:15, but Dallas went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:20. The Mavericks led 23-6 with 3:17 left. The quarter ended with Dallas leading 29-18. Barnes scored 8 points, and Andrew Bogut had 6 points and 8 rebounds.
Chicago pulled within six points three times in the second quarter, but Dallas finished the first half with a 57-45 lead. In the third quarter, Matthews had 14 points, and the Mavericks' lead by as many as 21 points. The quarter ended with Dallas leading 82-66.
Tip-ins:
Bulls: C Robin Lopez has a career-high 11 straight games with 10 or more points. ... F Jimmy Butler scored on a drive with 1:00 left in the third quarter, but was charged with a technical foul for arguing that he had been fouled. ... G Dwyane Wade missed his second game this season, staying behind in Chicago to rest. Nikola Mirotic replaced him in the starting lineup.
Mavericks: C Andrew Bogut fouled out, but had 11 rebounds and a season-high eight points. ... The Mavericks' 29 first-quarter points were a season high. ... The Mavericks said that F Dirk Nowitzki's return from a strained right Achilles tendon would be listed as "indefinite."
Up next:
Bulls: Return home to play Portland on Monday night. Chicago won at Portland 113-88 behind Jimmy Butler's 27 points on Nov. 15.
Mavericks: Host Charlotte on Monday night in the second game of a four-game homestand. Dallas lost to the Hornets on the road Thursday night.