Aaron Brooks scored 30 points, Shane Battier made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:11 left, and the Houston Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 97-94 on Thursday night.
Brooks followed Battier's 3 with one of his own for a six-point lead with 1:35 remaining, and the Rockets held on when Jason Kidd missed a potential tying shot from behind the arc in the final second.
The Rockets led through most of the first half and went up 66-52 in the third quarter, aided by six quick points by Brooks. But the Mavericks scrambled back into the game and tied it at 89 with 4:52 to play.
Jason Terry led a strong bench performance by Dallas with 20 points. Josh Howard had 16 points and Drew Gooden added 10 points off the bench.
Shawn Marion had 16 points and Kidd scored 14 for the Mavs, but Dirk Nowitzki sat out much of the first half with three fouls, and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Carl Landry added 15 points for the Rockets.
Houston led 56-47 at the half and Brooks took charge with 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Rockets rolling to a 78-70 lead after three quarters.
The Rockets beat the Mavericks 116-108 in overtime in their last meeting on Dec. 18. There were seven technical fouls called in the game and the Mavericks protested to the NBA that the final 61 seconds should be replayed, believing a "misapplication of the rules" led to the ejection of Dallas center Erick Dampier in the extra period.
This time, there were two technicals.
The Rockets led by 10 points late in the first quarter, but the Mavericks fought back and took their only lead of the second period, 38-37 on a 16-foot jumper by Terry. Kyle Lowry followed quickly with a 3-point basket and the Rockets held on to their lead at the half.
Howard had 11 second-quarter points to keep Dallas close.
The Mavericks started cold and the Rockets broke from a 7-all tie to a 24-17 lead. Luis Scola broke the tie with two straight baskets and the Rockets took advantage of early foul trouble by Nowitzki, who drew his second foul at 6:31 and sat out the rest of the first period. He got his third late in the second quarter.
NOTES: Rockets rookie guard Chase Budinger is still recovering from a sprained ankle Dec. 19 and sat out Thursday's game and likely will miss Saturday's at New Orleans. Nowitzki has 10 double-doubles this season. Terry is the Mavericks' No. 7 career scorer with 6,152 points.
