Seattle 105, Dallas 97

DALLAS, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Calvin Booth scored a career-high 24 points and teamed with Gary Payton Tuesday night to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 105-97 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, who lost their third straight game.

Booth was acquired by Dallas from Washington at the February trading deadline and made the winning basket in Game Five of the Mavericks' first-round series win over the Utah Jazz. He became a free agent during the offseason and signed a six-year, $34 million contract with Seattle.

Booth was questionable with a sprained right ankle but he did not play like he was hurt, beating 7-6 Shawn Bradley down low for easy baskets. He made 6-of-10 shots and 12-of-12 free throws, eclipsing his previous careerhigh of 18 with Washington vs. Orlando on Jan. 31, 2001.

Payton scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half. He made 11-of-22 shots and scored 10 consecutive points in a 14-0 run to close out the third quarter as Seattle turned a three-point lead into an 88-71 advantage.

Dallas, which relies heavily on its shooting, made just 31 percent in the first quarter and 41 percent overall.

Michael Finley paced the Mavericks with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Dirk Nowitzki had his third straight bad game, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range.