DALLAS, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Steve Nash scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night as the Dallas Mavericks capped the best January in franchise history with a 95-91 victory over the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets' Steve Francis will be the starting point guard for the Western Conference in next week's All-Star Game and will be backed up by Nash. Through three quarters, Francis displayed why he got the fans' vote while Nash showed in the final period what earned him his first All-Star appearance.
The Mavericks had their largest lead, 57-40, midway through the third quarter before the Rockets carried a 33-12 run into the fourth. Francis scored 15 of his 30 points during the burst, which gave Houston a 73-69 edge with 8:35 remaining.
But Nash responded with a three-pointer and a jumper to give the Mavericks the lead. The teams exchanged the lead twice and were tied three times before Adrian Griffin put Dallas in front for good, 81-79, on a jumper with 4:26 to go.
Nash made three jump shots and three free throws in the final 3:35 as the Mavericks pulled away and finished January at 12-4.
Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Juwan Howard collected 14 points and a career-high 16 boards for Dallas, which shot just 43 percent but committed only six turnovers.
Kelvin Cato had 18 points and 15 rebounds and rookie Eddie Griffin recorded 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks as the Rockets failed in a bid for their third straight win.
