DALLAS, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Dirk Nowitzki scored all 26 of his points over the final three quarters Tuesday night as the Dallas Mavericks capitalized on 26 turnovers by the Houston Rockets to post a 107-86 victory that snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Mavericks have been setting the pace for the rest of the NBA all season, winning their first 14 games and taking a 31-5 mark into last week's showdown in Sacramento. But they lost that game and ensuing road contests to Phoenix and Seattle before returning home with their first slump of the season.
The friendly surroundings certainly helped. So did all the giveaways by the Rockets, which the Mavericks turned into 30 points.
Nowitzki was scoreless in the first period but tallied 12 in the second. The first eight fueled an 11-0 burst that opened the period and the last four were part of a 14-0 explosion that made it 57-33 with 2:38 left in the first half.
Steve Nash scored 20 points and Michael Finley added 19 for Dallas, which improved to 19-2 at home.
