NBA: Dallas 122, Phoenix 117

PHOENIX, March 11 (UPI) -- Dirk Nowitzki's 34 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday went a long way to bringing Dallas a 122-117 victory over slumping Phoenix.

The Mavericks also were helped by Jason Terry's 25 points off the bench. Jose Barea, Antoine Wright and Jason Kidd also hit double figures as Dallas won for the sixth time in its last eight games.

Phoenix got 23 points and 13 assists from Steve Nash, and Matt Barnes and Shaquille O'Neal had 21 each. Leandro Barbosa and Jason Richardson also were in double figures but the Suns still lost for the fifth straight game.

Phoenix led this game 62-58 at halftime but Dallas cranked it up in the third quarter, using a 7-0 spurt for a 71-70 edge and a short time later another 6-0 run made it 82-74 with just under 4 minutes left in the period.

Dallas then scored seven unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.