April 1st, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
The Dallas Mavericks have something in common with the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets – all three teams are fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference playoff race and at least 1 team will soon be on the outside looking in.? Monday found Dallas facing the Los Angeles Clippers; Jason Kidd and Josh Howard combined for 53 points, leading the Mavericks to a tough, 93-86 win over the Clippers at Staples Center.?
Kidd scored 14 points in the first quarter and the Mavericks converted 12 Clippers’ turnovers into 17 points to build themselves a 52-40 lead; Corey Maggette missed 11 of his first 12 shots before hitting a 3-pointer that reduced Dallas’ lead to 76-70 with 7:21 left to go in the game.? Los Angeles’ Dan Dickau drained a 3 just 32 seconds later and Al Thornton followed up with a layup?to cut the Mavs’ advantage to 78-75 with 6:07 remaining; After Thornton’s jumper cut Dallas’ lead to 87-82 with 2:45 left, Howard responded with a pair of free throws and 2 jumpers, giving the Mavs an 11-point advantage with 1:24 left in the game – sealing the win for Dallas.
Dallas had a trio of players scoring 20+ points apiece, led by Kidd with 27 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and a block while Howard scored 25 with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals; Jason Terry added 20 with 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.? Los Angeles was led by Thornton with 26 points along with 7 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a block while Maggette scored 23, including 3 treys, 9 rebounds, 4 assists but 7 turnovers.? Dallas (46-28) remains at home to host the Golden State Warriors Wednesday while Los Angeles (22-52) travel to Seattle to face the SuperSonics – also on Wednesday.
