Nowitzki struggles as Mavericks lose to Trail Blazers

Nowitzi struggled on offence Saturday night and the visiting Mavericks lost to the Trail Blazers, 91-82, for the first time in nearly four years.

 Brandon Roy scored a career-high 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting for Portland, which defeated Dallas for the first time since December 23, 2003 to end a 13-game losing streak in the series.

 "Coach (Nate McMillan) told us that before the game," said Roy, the 2007 Rookie of the Year. "He said, 'Let's not make it 14.' I'm just happy with these guys and the way they played today."

   Nowitzki had made just 13-of-35 shots in his last two games and again had problems finding his usually sweet stroke. Hounded by Travis Outlaw, the German juggernaut made just 4-of-13 shots and scored a season-low 11 points as he battled foul trouble.

 "They were front and back on him and we just didn't make the defence pay," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said.  "We didn't make good reads tonight. There was no trick defence out there that we've never seen. It's just all about execution."

   The 2007 MVP was 3-of-3 in the first half but had no impact as Dallas dug itself a 49-40 hole. Roy scored 14 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 12 for Portland, which never trailed thereafter.

 The third quarter was a nightmare for Nowitzki as he missed 6-of-7 shots and took a seat with his fourth foul at the 1:36 mark. Dallas got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

 Outlaw made a 3-pointer before Nowitzki picked up his fifth foul with 5:24 to go. Two 3-pointers by Roy, who was 5-of-6 from the arc, pushed the lead to 85-67.

 "(Roy) allows the game to come to him," McMillan said.  "I don't think he forced the issue.  You're talking about 17 attempts.  That's not a lot of shots."

   Aldridge had 18 points and eight rebounds and Outlaw added 14 and 10 for the Blazers, who shot 50 per cent (35-of-70) and won their third straight game.

 Josh Howard scored 20 points and Jason Terry added 16 for the Mavericks, who shot just 35 per cent (29-of-82) and had a three-game winning streak snapped.

 "It was a little bit of both tenacious defence and poor shooting," Howard said. "They had a good defensive scheme sending three guys and all (at Dirk)."

   Elsewhere:

   Boston 112, New Jersey 101

   "The Battle of the Big Threes" was not much of a contest as the visiting Celtics improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1987. Paul Pierce scored 28 points, Ray Allen added 27 and 10 rebounds and Kevin Garnett 18 and 14 for Boston.

 "We're having a good time playing basketball," Allen said.  "We're still learning a lot about ourselves."

   Richard Jefferson scored 28 points and Jason Kidd and Vince Carter added 17 apiece for New Jersey, which had won three in a row. Carter suffered a sprained right ankle in the third quarter and did not return.

 Phoenix 106, Orlando 96

   "Brazilian Blur" Leandro Barbosa made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 39 points as Phoenix completed a Sunshine State weekend sweep. Grant Hill scored 14 points in his return to Orlando. Dwight Howard had 33 points and 18 rebounds for the Magic, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

 Toronto 101, Chicago 71

   Argentine Carlos Delfino scored 16 points and Italian Andrea Bargnani added 14 in a balanced attack to lead Toronto to a trouncing of host Chicago, which fell to 1-5.

 Denver 113, Indiana 106

   Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points and Allen Iverson added 27 as visiting Denver erased a 25-point second-quarter deficit. Lithuania's Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 21 points in the final period to help complete the comeback.  The Pacers have lost three in a row.

 Utah 118, Memphis 94

   Carlos Boozer scored 31 points and Russian Andrei Kirilenko added 15, 12 rebounds and nine assists as the host Jazz won their third straight game. Spanish star Pau Gasol was limited to 11 points for Memphis.

 Sacramento 100, Minnesota 93

   Kevin Martin scored 29 points for host Sacramento, which kept Minnesota winless (0-5). Al Jefferson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves.

DPA