Dallas 114; L.A. Clippers 107

LOS ANGELES, March 27 (UPI) -- Rookie Marko Jaric committed a pair of crucial turnovers in the final minute Wednesday night as Dallas escaped with a 114-107 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

With the Clippers down, 104-101, Jaric dribbled into the corner, but was trapped and tried to force a pass back to the top of the key. Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 27 points, picked off the pass and raced downcourt for a basket that gave Dallas a five-point lead with 55 seconds left.

On the next possession, Jaric passed up an easy layup and tried to feed a short pass to Eric Piatkowski under the basket. Again, Nowitzki was there to steal it.

Nowitzki was fouled and made both free throws with 49 seconds remaining. The Clippers never got closer than five points the rest of the way as they bailed out the Mavericks, who knew they were lucky to get out of with a win.

"We've gone from last in the league in defense to 11th, but you wouldn't know that by tonight because we couldn't guard anybody tonight," said Dallas Coach Don Nelson. "We have the best record in the league and we were beatable."

Dallas made its last 11 free throws in the final 3:17. Los Angeles, meanwhile, made only 2-of-7 from the line down the stretch, including a pair of misses by Jaric with 2:48 left and the Clippers trailing, 98-96.

"It came down to the last two minutes and, unfortunately, we fell short," said Clippers Coach Dennis Johnson. "The difference was missed free throws and the turnovers in the end."

Before the closing minutes, Jaric had played very well. He scored 13 points, shot 3-of-4 from three-point range, and collected seven rebounds and seven assists.

"It's pretty dangerous to let a team hang around," Nowitzki said. "We just can't stop anyone, but we found a way to win and I don't think it's a lack of effort."

Piatkowski led the Clippers with a season-high 22 points and Corey Maggette added 21.

Nick Van Exel finished with 29 for Dallas, while Steve Nash added 19 points and 12 assists as the Mavericks swept the four-game season series from the Clippers.

Maggette led the Clippers with 11 rebounds as they owned a 50-43 advantage on the boards. Nowitzki also had 11 rebounds, as well as four steals and four assists.