Deron Williams scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter to lead the Brooklyn Nets past the Dallas Mavericks, 104-94, on Saturday.
Williams went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and pulled down six rebounds for the Nets, who have won four straight in Dallas. Thaddeus Young tallied 16 points and eight rebounds.
Joe Johnson contributed 15 points and eight boards for Brooklyn, which went 3-5 on its eight-game road trip. Mason Plumlee and Jarrett Jack each scored 14 points, with Plumlee also pulling down 10 boards.
Dirk Nowitzki ended with 20 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks, who have lost two in a row. Devin Harris added 14 points and Al-Farouq Aminu and Monta Ellis had 12 points apiece.
Rajon Rondo finished with eight points, seven rebounds and six assists in his return from a one-game suspension. Dallas suspended Rondo for Wednesday's 104-87 loss at Atlanta after he and coach Rick Carlisle exchanged words the night before in the third quarter of a 99-92 home win over Toronto.
The Mavericks led for most of the first half and took a 51-47 edge into the locker room.
Brooklyn scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 54-51 lead. With the score tied 59-59 moments later, the Nets created some distance with a 12-0 run. Williams and Johnson made consecutive 3-pointers to make it 71-59 with 5:06 left.
The margin reached 13, 80-67, on Young's trey with 36.9 seconds remaining. The Nets outscored Dallas by a 35-21 margin in the third to build an 82-72 lead.
Dallas never got closer than five in the final stanza.
Game Notes
The Nets shot 51.9 percent from the field ... Brooklyn outrebounded Dallas by a 48-37 margin ... Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injury and center Tyson Chandler sat out his second consecutive game with a hip injury.
[SportsNetwork.com]
