Sonics set team record with season's 60th loss

DALLAS — After a rousing come-from-behind victory in their last game, the Dallas Mavericks avoided a misstep against the struggling Sonics.

Jason Terry scored 22 points, Josh Howard had 17, and Dallas (49-29) crept closer to a playoff berth with a 99-83 victory over Seattle on Tuesday night.

The Sonics — who lost their 60th game to break a club record that dated to the inaugural 1967-68 season — kept the game close until the fourth quarter. Seattle trailed by six before Dallas went on an 18-4 run to put the contest out of reach.

Earl Watson had 22 points and eight assists for Seattle. Kevin Durant had 16 points, and Jeff Green and Nick Collison each had 11.

Seattle scored 151 points in a double-overtime win against Denver on Sunday. But the Sonics (18-60) shot 38 percent from the floor and failed to generate a consistent offensive attack against the Mavericks.

"I just didn't think we played very smart," Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "It was more of the offensive shot selection. We had too many possessions where we didn't get good shots. That hurt us more than anything else."

Watson hit a jumper that brought Seattle to 73-67 early in the fourth quarter. But Nowitzki started Dallas' fourth-quarter surge with a three-pointer and a jumper to extend the lead to 78-67.

The Sonics inched to 80-71 when Watson connected on an another jumper before the Mavericks scored the next 11 points. Terry capped the run with a pair of layups as the Mavericks beat the Sonics for the 13th consecutive time, dating to Dec. 9, 2004.

"Once we got our defense rolling, we were able to get in transition for some easy baskets," Terry said.

Terry, who shot 9 of 11, scored 12 points in the first half as the Mavericks led 46-44 at halftime. The Sonics got within one early in the second half before the Mavericks started building their lead.

Howard's three-point play gave the Mavericks a 70-60 cushion before Durant answered with one of his own to cut the lead to seven after three quarters.

The Mavericks came into the game with a two-game lead over Denver and Golden State in the race for seventh place in the West.

"All these games are big for us," Terry said. "We can't afford to slip up, especially at home. We were playing a team with nothing to lose. You know they're going to play hard. We just have to play harder than them."

Notes

• Sonics F Donyell Marshall (right knee soreness) missed the game. He had an MRI exam Tuesday, and Carlesimo said Marshall's status is day-to-day

• Sonics center Mouhamed Sene suffered a knee injury Friday in an NBA Development League game and will have surgery, the team said. Sene, a second-year player, was playing for the Idaho Stampede in a game at Bakersfield when he sustained a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee.

Sene played in 13 games for the Sonics this season, averaging 2.3 points. In 27 D-League games with Idaho, he averaged 12.4 points and 9 rebounds.

SEATTLE
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Green	36:09	5-13	1-2	2-8	1	2	11
Collison	29:33	4-10	3-3	0-5	0	3	11
Petro	32:45	4-11	2-2	3-7	1	3	10
Watson	37:04	9-15	4-4	1-5	8	3	22
Durant	37:09	6-16	4-5	1-6	3	0	16
Elson	19:30	1-7	1-2	2-6	0	4	3
Wilkins	22:38	1-7	1-2	1-2	3	2	3
Ridnour	18:22	1-4	2-2	0-1	2	2	5
Griffin	3:25	0-0	0-0	0-2	0	0	0
Dupree	3:25	1-1	0-0	0-1	0	0	2
Totals		32-84	18-22	10-43	18	19	83

Percentages: FG .381, FT .818. Three-point goals: 1-7, .143 (Ridnour 1-2, Durant 0-1, Elson 0-1, Watson 0-1, Green 0-2). Team rebounds: 7. Team turnovers: 8 (13 PTS). Blocked shots: 2 (Durant, Watson). Turnovers: 7 (Ridnour 3, Watson 2, Collison, Elson). Steals: 5 (Green 2, Petro 2, Ridnour). Technical fouls: None.

DALLAS
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
JoHoward	31:43	6-14	5-7	1-6	3	2	17
Nowitzki	25:57	5-14	0-0	0-12	1	1	11
Dampier	25:09	4-5	2-2	2-9	1	0	10
Kidd	26:47	2-6	2-2	0-7	10	2	6
Terry	33:13	9-11	2-2	0-1	6	1	22
Bass	25:42	6-8	1-2	1-3	1	3	13
George	20:23	2-6	0-0	0-0	1	1	5
JuHoward	15:47	1-4	0-0	0-3	0	4	2
Wright	16:17	2-3	0-0	0-1	2	1	5
Lue	15:37	2-5	0-0	0-0	2	4	6
Magloire	3:25	0-1	2-2	0-1	0	0	2
Totals		39-77	14-17	4-43	27	19	99

Percentages: FG .506, FT .824. Three-point goals: 7-16, .438 (Terry 2-2, Lue 2-4, George 1-1, Wright 1-1, Nowitzki 1-2, Kidd 0-2, Jo.Howard 0-4). Team rebounds: 4. Team turnovers: 7 (6 PTS). Blocked shots: 4 (Bass 2, Dampier, Jo.Howard). Turnovers: 7 (Kidd 2, George, Jo.Howard, Ju.Howard, Lue, Wright). Steals: 2 (Kidd, Magloire). Technical fouls: Nowitzki, 6:25 third.

Seattle	21	23	19	20 — 83
Dallas	23	23	24	29 — 99

Attendance: 20,228 (20,468). Time: 2:09. Officials: Mike Callahan, Kevin Fehr, Marc Davis.