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DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki was frustrated by his poor shooting performance in Dallas previous game. That disappointment, plus a little help from an old friend, turned into another big performance by the veteran forward. Nowitzki scored seven of his 32 points in overtime, leading the Mavericks to a 128-119 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. Nowitzki also had 10 rebounds and six assists. In Dallas loss to Brooklyn on Sunday, he was 2 for 12 from the field in his worst shooting performance of the season. "The last game was disappointing for me," Nowitzki said. "I was just hesitating too much, so I had to go back to having fun out there and just being me. "That was a heck of a game, and it was fun to be a part of." The 7-foot Nowitzki was 11 for 23 from the field and 8 for 8 at the line. "His emotion and his attitude carried the team," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Hes a prideful guy. I think great players are great for a reason. They never let anything keep them down for long. Hes bounced back from every adversity hes ever had in his career, so this is no surprise." Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 43 points. He has scored at least 25 in 36 consecutive games in the longest such streak since Michael Jordans 40-game run during the 1986-87 season. Dallas had seven players score in double figures. Jose Calderon went 6 for 8 from 3-point range and finished with 22 points. Nowitzki said he spent time on Tuesday with Holger Geschwinder, his longtime basketball mentor from his home country of Germany. He said they got in a little shooting work. "I guess he was tired of watching my shooting percentage," Nowitzki said. "Its always good when hes there." Russell Westbrook scored 23 for Oklahoma City. All of his points came in regulation, when he played 31:50. He added another minute in overtime. Westbrook is limited to 30 to 32 minutes per game because of his oft-injured right knee. Oklahoma City was coming off a 117-96 victory over Denver on Monday night. The Thunder had won four in a row. "Im proud of our guys effort and energy, coming back from back-to-back games," coach Scott Brooks said. "I cant complain about anything we did tonight." "We didnt make the big play," said Durant, who has scored 40 points or more 13 times this season. "They made shots in overtime. You have to give them credit." The Mavericks scored the first five points of the extra period on two free throws by Nowitzki and a 3-pointer by Calderon. They never trailed again. The victory pushed Dallas into eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of idle Phoenix. The Mavericks improved to 3-2 on a franchise-long, eight-game homestand, with three of the games going to overtime. They began the homestand in seventh place, 1 1/2 ahead of the ninth-place Suns. Calderon returned to the starting lineup after being knocked out of Sunday nights game in the first minute. He was whacked in the face by Brooklyns Mason Plumlee, chipping a facial bone between his nose and mouth. Calderon said the injury only hurts when he talks or laughs. "And I dont have to laugh during games," he said. Another of Calderons 3s came with 26.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter and sent the game into overtime. "It felt good from the beginning," he said, "but you dont know until that ball goes through the rim." Dallas won 109-86 at Oklahoma City on March 16 in the Thunders worst loss of the season. Westbrook missed that game because the team wants to limit the activity for his surgically repaired knee, choosing to rest him in one part of back-to-back games. Westbrook was the catalyst of Oklahoma Citys second-quarter rally after the Thunder fell behind by 10. He scored 10 points in the period, including a foul shot that gave Oklahoma City a 57-48 lead with 1:25 to go. But the Mavericks answered with three consecutive 3-pointers - one from Calderon and two from Vince Carter - to tie it with 33.4 left in the half. Durant then hit a 3 to give Oklahoma City a 60-59 lead at the break. The Thunder hit 14 of 18 shots in the period and shot 57.1 per cent for the half. NOTES: Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins, sidelined since Feb. 20 with a groin strain, is hoping to return at Houston on April 4. ... If Dallas finishes among the leagues top-10 teams, Oklahoma City will get the Mavericks first-round draft choice next summer as a result of a series of trades. Germaine Pratt Youth Jersey . His big 2-minute outburst in the fourth quarter Tuesday night is all that really mattered for the Dallas Mavericks. Jonah Williams Womens Jersey . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengals-Michael-Jordan-Jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Boomer Esiason Jersey . These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. Ryan Finley Jersey . -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers played just well enough to beat an inferior opponent, which has been the way most of their five-game win streak has gone. David West scored 25 points, Paul George added 22, and the Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 94-91 on Sunday night. Indianapolis native Gordon Hayward had 21 points and Derrick Favors scored 17 for the Jazz, nine of them in the first eight minutes as Utah opened a 14-4 lead. A dunk from Favors cut the Pacers lead to 89-86 with a minute left to play, and West missed a jumper to give Utah a chance to tie with 35 seconds remaining. Hayward cut the Indiana lead to one, but Lance Stephenson sank two free throws to seal the win. "This was a mental toughness win," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I thought we played with extraordinary effort for four quarters." The Jazz made things interesting in the games fourth period thanks to Hayward, who had 10 of his 21 points in the final 15 minutes. His final five points came in the final minutes. Ian Mahinmi came off the bench to score nine points for the Pacers and provide key minutes, as Roy Hibbert struggled to contain Favors. Utah came out of halftime to score eight unanswered points and force Indiana to call an early timeout. The Pacers retook the lead when Mahinmi was fouled on a layup. Mahinmi made the free throw to put Indiana up 60-58. "Ive pretty solid on defence all season long," Mahinmi said. "My shot blocking has been up. My timing is good." CJ Watson, starting for the injured George Hill, scored 13 points for the Pacers. Hill sat out his second straight game with a bruised shoulder. After coming off the bennch to score 17 in a win over Boston a night earlier, Evan Turner struggled in his reserve role.dddddddddddd Turner, acquired from Philadelphia on Feb. 20, scored eight points and shot 2 of 9 in 20 minutes. But the Pacers got a boost from Mahinmi and Watson to pull out another win against an opponent they might have easily beaten earlier in the season. After two close tilts against Milwaukee and a come-from-behind victory in Boston on Saturday night, Indiana survived a scare against one of the Wests worst teams. But all night long, Utah buckled under pressure from one of the NBAs best defensive teams. The Jazz finished with 18 turnovers, which led to 24 points for Indiana. George went down hard after being fouled on a drive to the basket late in the third quarter. George slammed to the floor and appeared to hit his head, but remained in the game to sink both free throws. Hayward rebounded from a slow start to put together one of his best games since January. In his fourth time playing in his native city, he shot 8 of 15 from the field after being held scoreless until the beginning of the second period. He scored seven straight points in the third quarter, keeping the Jazz in the game while the rest of the offence sputtered. "I thought I was quiet in the first half, but I was proud of the way we came back and fought against a team with a real good record, especially here at home," Hayward said. Hayward, who led Butler to an NCAA championship game appearance in 2010, averaged 12.2 points on 34.1 shooting in 12 games in February. He came into the game having scored only 21 points in four games in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ' ' '