Hobbled Nowitzki helps Mavs hold off Wizards in Beal's return

Washington, DC - Monte Ellis scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half and helped the Dallas Mavericks to a 105-102 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Brandan Wright and J.J. Barea each posted 14 points off the bench and were integral parts to the Mavs winning their fifth straight game. Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons went for 13 and 11 points, respectively, as each shot 4- of-12 from the floor in the win.

Bradley Beal, playing in his first game this season after missing time with a broken left wrist, paced the Wizards with 21 points in a reserve role. Paul Pierce and Marcin Gortat each netted 17 points for the Wizards, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time on their home floor (4-1).

With Dallas trailing by one late in the fourth, Barea proved to be a spark it needed as he nailed an open jumper from the wing, then followed a Nene dunk with another jumper to give the Mavs a 96-95 lead with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

Barea proceeded to knock down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the margin before finding Nowitzki for a 3-pointer on their next possession for a 102-97 lead. Nowitzki hobbled to the locker room earlier in the fourth after rolling his left ankle, however, returned to the floor with under four minutes left.

Beal muscled his way past Barea at the other end for a tough layup to cut the margin to three. The Mavs were unsuccessful on their next touch after getting two attempts at points courtesy of a huge offensive rebound by Tyson Chandler, but John Wall was off the mark on a 3. Ellis canned a pair of free throws at the other end prior to Beal missing a 3 and a layup in the closing seconds as Dallas won its ninth straight in the series.

Wall finished with 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting with 11 asssists.

A 9-2 run toward the end of the first for Washington was answered with a bank shot from Ellis just before the buzzer as the Wizards led 29-23 after 12 minutes.

Jameer Nelson tied the game at 48-48 with a 3-pointer at 1:39 of the second, then Pierce countered with a triple of his own at the other end. Wall converted a dunk in the closing seconds to give Washington a one-point lead, but Ellis raced up the court and was fouled, making both free throws to send Dallas into the locker room with a 54-53 advantage at half.

The Mavericks came out in the third and scored nine straight, as Ellis opened things up with a 3 before assisting on a three-point play by Chandler and a trey from Nowitzki for a 63-53 edge.

The Wizards followed with a 14-4 run that tied the game at 67-67 after Wall's jumper. They took the lead less than two minutes later when Wall found a cutting Beal on a 2-on-1 break for a transition layup to make it 71-70. Dallas, however, scored six of the final eight points for a 76-73 lead heading into the fourth.