(Updated: 2ND GRAPH: Updates with Mavs 1 1/2 games out of 8th place)
Mavericks 100, Bulls 98: Dirk Nowitzki buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left and finished with a season-high 35 points on 14-of-17 shooting as host Dallas overcame a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes to stun Chicago.
Brandan Wright added 17 points and 13 rebounds off the bench and Vince Carter scored 17 for the Mavericks, who remained 1 1/2 games back of the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Nate Robinson went 7-of-7 from 3-point range and scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter but missed a jumper at the buzzer. Carlos Boozer collected 25 and 11 rebounds and Luol Deng also scored 25 for the Bulls.
Chicago used a 12-0 run early in the third quarter to open up a 68-55 lead and were still up by 10 with three minutes left in the period before Dallas used a 10-0 burst to even it at 75 heading into the fourth. Robinson hit three 3-pointers and accounted for all the Bullsâ?? points in an 11-2 run opening the final quarter to put Chicago back in control.
The Mavericks drew within 88-83 on Nowitzkiâ??s jumper with 6:30 left, but Robinson responded by knocking down a 3-pointer from more than 30 feet away as the shot clock was winding down and Deng hit two more from beyond the arc over the next two minutes to push the lead to 97-85 with 4:07 left. The Bulls would not hit another field goal as Dallas chipped away, drawing to within 98-97 on Nowitzkiâ??s baseline jumper with 27.8 seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Robinson and Dallas G Mike James got tangled up with 1:20 left and were assessed double technical fouls. â? Bulls F Jimmy Butler made his third straight start in place of the injured Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) but went 1-of-8 from the field and missed two free throws with 15 seconds left that would have given Chicago a three-point lead. â? After being crushed on the glass 55-34 in a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, the Mavericks held their own 39-39 against the Bulls.
