I am not going to be one to criticize the Charlotte Bobcats for their recent trade which sent Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley to the Phoenix Suns; not so much for the trade itself but the timing as the trade made the Bobcats short-handed against the Dallas Mavericks during their game Thursday night.  Despite being undermanned, Charlotte nearly pulled it out; unfortunately for them, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki hit a three-pointer with 30 ticks left in the game, sending Dallas to a hard-fought 95-90 win over Charlotte at American Airlines Center.

The Bobcats had a decent start as they hit ten of their first 18 shots, tying the game at 26 going into the second quarter; Emeka Okafor had a double-double with 4 minutes left in the first half and had 17 points and 11 boards as Charlotte went into halftime with a 54-53 lead.  But Nowitzki had other plans as he scored 8 straight points during an early stretch in the third quarter; the Bobcats, however, kept things tight while the Mavericks went about 4 minutes without a basket before Jason Kidd drained a 3-pointer, keeping Dallas to within 73-72.  Both teams went into the final period tied at 74.

Jason Terry’s jumper ignited a 12-2 Dallas run, capped by Nowitzki’s trey as the Mavericks built up an 86-80 cushion with 5:53 left in the game; but the Bobcats would respond with an 8-2 run themselves, capped by a dunk by Ryan Hollins with 3:09 remaining, tying the game at 88.  Terry made a pair of free throws, giving Dallas the lead for good, 90-88.  Dallas’ leading scorer was Terry from off the bench with 26 points (including 3 treys), a rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals while Nowitzki added 23 (including three 3-pointers)with 13 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Charlotte was led by Okafor with 27 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocked shots while Raymond Felton added 16 with 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.  Dallas (12-9) continues their homestand when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday while Charlotte (7-16) returns home to host the Detroit Pistons – also on Saturday night.