MINNEAPOLIS – Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points, including 23 in the second half, to lead the Dallas Mavericks over Minnesota 97-87 Tuesday night, snapping the Timberwolves’ five-game winning streak.

Josh Howard had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks, who overcame the early ejection of coach Don Nelson and outrebounded Minnesota 54-35 to win for the third time in four games.

Kevin Garnett had 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Minnesota, which was playing without starter Latrell Sprewell. Sprewell was suspended for one game by the NBA for yelling a sexual vulgarity at a female fan in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Wally Szczerbiak had 18 points and Eddie Griffin 14 for the Wolves, but Sam Cassell was held scoreless in the second half.

Nelson was ejected by referee Joey Crawford just 93 seconds into the game. He got his first technical for questioning an offensive foul on Darrell Armstrong and immediately yelled back at Crawford, who quickly added the second technical.

The Mavericks led 71-64 after three quarters, and the Wolves could not get closer than five points the rest of the way. When Nowitzki converted a three-point play with 5:06 left, Dallas had its biggest lead of the game, 88-75.

Bucks 89, Pacers 86

INDIANAPOLIS – Michael Redd scored 28 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their first road win of the season, 89-86 over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

Desmond Mason added 21 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks, who opened with seven straight road losses before breaking through against Indiana thanks in large part to a 48-34 rebounding advantage.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Pacers, the longest losing streak for Indiana under second-year coach Rick Carlisle.

The Bucks barely held on after Reggie Miller led a furious rally in the fourth quarter. Playing his second game of the season after missing the first 16 with a broken left hand, Miller was his old unstoppable self. He scored 19 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, the last coming on a 3-pointer in Mason’s face with 29.9 seconds left to pull the Pacers to 84-83.

Redd answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key for an 87-83 lead. Fred Jones hit a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds to play, but Milwaukee inbounded the ball, Redd hit two free throws and Anthony Johnson missed a wide open 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Grizzlies 96, Knicks 88

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Earl Watson scored a career-high 22 points, missing only one of his 10 shots, and Mike Miller added 20 Tuesday night to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 96-88 victory over the New York Knicks.

Watson, filling in after starter Jason Williams (sprained right ankle) went on the injured list, also had five assists.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 15 late in the third period, and the Knicks got no closer than the final margin in the fourth quarter while dropping their third straight.

Pau Gasol added 16 points and seven rebounds for Memphis, while James Posey finished with 11 points off the bench.

Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 17 points, while Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammed contributed 16 each and Kurt Thomas scored 12. New York’s leading scorer, Stephon Marbury, had nine points and nine assists but hit only two of his 12 shots from the field.

Cavaliers 103, Nets 97

CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 27 points and assisted on Lucious Harris’ clinching 3-pointer with 6 seconds left as the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers won their eighth straight at home, 103-97 over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night.

At 12-6, the Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference – the first time they’ve had that distinction after 15 games since March 21, 1989, when they were 48-17.

There’s a long way to go this season, but Cleveland is looking more and more like a legitimate power – and James is the biggest reason why.

After his two free throws put the Cavaliers up 97-93 with 1:35 to play, James stole Richard Jefferson’s crosscourt pass and streaked in for a thunderous slam dunk. As the Gund Arena crowd erupted, the Nets called timeout and James walked to Cleveland’s bench screaming, “This is my house.”