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WASHINGTON -- The short-handed Washington Wizards once again lost to the Dallas Mavericks. The hope is they won't lose point guard John Wall for long. Guard Wesley Matthews tied his career-high with 36 points and made 10 3-pointers, and the Dallas Mavericks continued their dominance over the Washington Wizards with a 116-104 win Sunday night.
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Wall left the game and needed help getting to the locker room after a knee-to-knee collision with Dallas forward Jeremy Evans with 1:14 remaining.
Wall later left the arena walking with a noticeable limp. The two-time All-Star had an X-ray, but was uncertain of the results before the team headed to Miami for Monday's meeting with the Heat.
All involved recognized why the Mavericks (12-9) pulled away from the Wizards (8-10) and when the momentum switched sides.
Matthews, who entered shooting 30.8 percent on 3-pointers, sank 10 of 17 from long range. Dallas finished 16 of 31 on 3-point attempts, shot 50 percent from the field and made 24 of 27 free throws.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points for the Mavericks. Dallas won its 11th consecutive matchup with the Wizards, its longest active streak against any team, and its seventh in a row in Washington.
"Effort was terrific," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our whole team was due for a shot-making night. Wes led the way."
Wall had 28 points, 10 assists and five steals for the Wizards, who lost for the sixth time in eight games. Guard Bradley Beal scored 21 points.
The injury-plagued Wizards dressed only 10 players for the third time in eight days. Wall won't be among the missing Monday if the decision on playing is his.
"Especially where we are right now, I want to play. Help these guys as much as possible," said Wall, who played with a fractured wrist in the 2015 playoffs. "It's also understanding what I have in the future and not (wanting) to jeopardize it all this early in the season."
Trailing 84-82 in the second half, Dallas took the lead for good with an 11-2 run started by Nowitzki's 3-pointer and capped by two from Matthews.
The real swing occurred during the middle portion of the game. Dallas trailed 58-49 with two minutes left in the first half, but entered halftime down 58-55. The spurt continued in the third quarter with the 20-5 run putting the Mavericks up 69-63 lead.
"I thought we really kind of put ourselves behind the eight ball the last two minutes of the second quarter," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Then we come out in the first half four minutes of the third quarter and didn't have any energy."
Matthews had only one game with more than 18 points this season, but scored 28 in the second half -- 14 in both the third and fourth quarters. His surge began with three 3-pointers early in the third quarter.
"It's one of those nights where those same shots that I've been shooting and missing, they were falling tonight," said Matthews, who missed all by 18 games last season with an Achilles tendon injury.
Dallas had lost two of three games, including a 100-96 defeat against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Mavericks guard Raymond Felton had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
For the second straight game, the Wizards were without their four primary big men, including starting center Marcin Gortat, who remains away from the team for family matters.
Forward Otto Porter had 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds for the Wizards, but he had little help on the glass. With its clear size advantage, Dallas outrebounded Washington 50-31.
Washington guard Gary Neal scored 13 points of his 18 points in the second quarter.
"It's the NBA, nobody is going to feel sorry for us," Neal said about the injuries including the latest one. "We just hope and pray that it's nothing serious with John and we get on the plane with what we got."
NOTES: Dallas G Devin Harris is day-to-day with bruised ribs suffered during a collision with teammate Justin Anderson. ... Wizards F Nene missed his fifth consecutive game with a strained left calf. Forwards Drew Gooden (right calf strain) and Kris Humphries (ankle sprain) also did not play. ... Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle would not offer a timetable for PG J.J Barea's return. The veteran sat out his fifth game in a row with a right ankle sprain. ... Both teams play Monday. The Mavericks are at the New York Knicks, while Washington travels for a meeting against Southeast Division rival Miami. Starting with the Heat game, the Wizards will play five of their next six games on the road.
