DALLAS -- No matter who or how many San Antonio Spurs were on Dirk Nowitzki, or how much they pushed, prodded or swatted at the 7-foot All-Star, he kept making big plays for the Dallas Mavericks. Tyron Smith Cowboys Jersey . "He probably doesnt get enough credit for being the competitor that he is, and for being so tough-minded," teammate Lamar Odom said of Nowitzki. "Theres nothing soft about Dirk. Hes tough." Nowitzki scored 27 points, fought for loose balls and screamed out in exhilaration several times as the defending NBA champion Mavericks won 106-99 over the Southwest Division-leading Spurs on Saturday night for their third consecutive victory. After winning at home against Washington and Charlotte, the NBAs two worst teams, beating San Antonio was much more impressive, even if the Spurs were playing the second consecutive night. Dallas never trailed and the only tie was at 2-all. "It was a playoff battle. Anytime we see the Spurs its a fun game, great atmosphere, both teams really trying to get the win. As expected, it was a physical game," Nowitzki said. "They went small some, tried to mix it up. At the end they were double-teaming some. I thought as a team, we always made the right play, find the open guy. That was definitely big." With the shot clock running down late in the third quarter, Nowitzki got the ball with Manu Ginobili right on top of him. The Mavericks perennial All-Star made a 20-foot jumper for a 10-point lead and let out a scream, as much excitement for making the shot as letting officials know he thought he was also fouled. San Antonio cut that deficit in half on a 3-pointer by Ginobili nearly 3 minutes into the fourth quarter, but got no closer. Dallas responded by scoring eight in a row. Nowitzki defensively harassed Tiago Splitter into a miss, then made a pass to Brandan Wright for a two-handed slam. After Jason Kidd added a 3-pointer, Nowitzki added a 3 from the left wing and then stared toward the Spurs bench with the lead stretched back to 90-77. "Dallas was the sharper team. ... We were a half-step behind from the start of the night defensively and they took advantage," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Dirk gets a lot of points no matter whos guarding him. Hes an MVP and Hall of Fame player." Jason Terry added 17 points and Rodrigue Beaubois 16 for the Mavs, whose winning streak comes after a miserable 2-7 stretch over 12 days. Kidd had 14 points with four 3-pointers and 10 assists for his first double-double Tim Duncan and Danny Green each had 17 points for the Spurs, who were coming off a 114-105 victory at Oklahoma City on Friday night. Tony Parker had 13 points and 11 assists. "I missed easy shots and was a little tired from a big game (Friday) night with playoff intensity," Parker said. This was another intense game. Ginobili and Nowitzki got tangled up several times during the game. With 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half, Nowitzki came away with a loose ball as Ginobili tried to strip it out of his hands. Nowitzki held on and screamed out after twisting his body away while the whistle blew for a foul. Nowitzki made both free throws, part of the stretch when he scored the last 12 points of the first half for Dallas. There were also a few physical moments between Nowitzki and Stephen Jackson, who played his first game with the Spurs since being acquired from Golden State in a deadline trade Thursday. Jackson wound up on the floor after getting tied up with Nowitzki late in the first half, and it was Jackson who got called for the foul. Beaubouis started at shooting guard with Vince Carter shifting over to small forward to replace Shawn Marion, who missed the game with a sore left knee. Beaubouis scored the first two Dallas baskets, an alley-oop dunk from Kidd on the opening shot, then an 11-foot jumper that put Dallas ahead to stay after Greens dunk made it 2-2. "Hes stepped up this entire homestand," Terry said. He kind of controlled Tony Parker. He was pretty darned good." Notes: San Antonio had scored at least 112 points in five consecutive games, winning four of them. ... The Mavericks finish March with five of seven games on the road. That includes Friday at San Antonio, their last regular-season meeting against the Spurs. ... Kidd, whose 1,302 regular season games played is the most among active players, matches Elvin Hayes for 11th on the all-time list in his next game. ... Jackson had five points while playing 16 minutes in his first game back with the Spurs, whom he also played with from 2001-03. Jason Witten Cowboys Jersey . - From the pick six that closed Candlestick to a pair of goal-line stands in Carolina, it seems like whenever San Francisco needs a big play from its defence one of the 49ers decorated linebackers steps up. Terrance Williams Youth Jersey .J. Miles are out for Tuesdays game against Sacramento because of injuries.CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose was pulled with four minutes left, and Carlos Boozer quickly joined him on the sideline. Luol Deng was a cheerleader for most of the fourth quarter. The Chicago Bulls latest victory over the Detroit Pistons featured plenty of valuable rest for the teams biggest stars. Boozer scored 23 points and Chicago beat Detroit 92-68 on Monday night for its 13th consecutive win against the Pistons. Rose added 22 points and eight assists for Chicago, which bounced back from Saturday nights lacklustre 109-94 loss at Atlanta. Ronnie Brewer finished with 12 points, and Boozer also had eight rebounds. "Its just defence," Rose said. "If every night can be like this where we played defence and get out and run, it would be easy. But its been hard. We tried to come back from the last game, where it was embarrassing to play in a game like that, and just try to keep playing. Thats what we did tonight." The Bulls improved to 4-1 during their first stretch of nine games in 12 days in 30 years. They play again each of the next two nights, hitting the road to face Minnesota on Tuesday before returning home to face Washington on Wednesday. "Its more like AAU except its in the NBA," said Boozer, recalling his travels with his club team in high school. "So give you a chance to flash back then get back to work. Honestly, we would rather play the games than the alternative." Greg Monroe had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Detroit, which has lost four straight games. Rookie Brandon Knight scored 13 points, and Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon had 11 apiece. The Pistons have yet to crack 100 points in a game this season and their average of 82.4 points is the lowest in the NBA. This was their lowest scoring game of the season. "I definitely saw improved defence," coach Lawrence Frank said. "We got back in transition much better. On offence we were making the right plays. But when youre playing a high-end team like this, you have to play four quarters." Chicago led 68-59 after three and put the game away with an 18-3 run to begin the fourth quarter. Rose had a jumper and an emphatic dunk during the surge. The big fourth-quarter run led to chants for seldom-used reserve Brian Scalabrine, and he entered with 2:43 left. His fadeaway jumperr with 14. Jay Novacek Jersey. 6 seconds remaining led to a wild ovation from the United Center crowd and delighted the Bulls bench. "I liked the way we started the game on both ends," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Our ball movement was good. It got us into a rhythm. Carlos played a terrific game and our bench came in and gave us a lift." Detroit closed the first quarter with a 9-0 run to tie it at 21, but the Bulls responded with a 9-0 run of their own. Kyle Korver capped the surge with a three-pointer after Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko left him open on the wing. Chicago, which was upset with its defence during the loss at Atlanta, held Detroit scoreless for the first 5:52 of the second. The Pistons missed their first eight shots of the quarter. The Bulls led by as many as 11 in the first half and it could have been more. Brewer missed an easy putback with 26.9 seconds left and Prince scored on a running layup to trim Chicagos lead to 43-34 at the break. The Pistons were without guard Rodney Stuckey (sore groin) and forward Charlie Villanueva (sore right ankle). Stuckey and Villanueva have missed three consecutive games and are day to day. "Every team has a lot of games and thats just the reality," Frank said, referring to the truncated schedule stemming from the long NBA lockout. "Thats the reason why guys are getting hurt. Theres a lot of games in a short of time, without the same previous training practices. It happened in the NFL and it happened here. It is what it is." Chicago played without C.J. Watson, who is out with a strained left elbow, and former Pistons star Richard Hamilton, who was sidelined again with a sore left groin. The six-foot-seven Hamilton, the Bulls biggest off-season acquisition, has played in just one of Chicagos last six games -- a 99-83 road win against the Pistons on Wednesday. NOTES: F Austin Daye returned to the court after missing Detroits previous game with a right ankle injury. ... Chicago is 5-0 this season in the opener of back-to-back contests. ... The last time the Bulls played nine games in 12 days was Jan. 26-Feb. 6, 1972. They went 6-3 in that stretch. ... The Pistons last victory over Chicago was a 95-87 decision at the Palace on Dec. 23, 2008. Detroit also is winless in its last 11 games at the United Center. wholesale jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '