Jason Terry scored 22 points, Josh Howard added 17, and the Dallas Mavericks crept closer to a playoff berth with a 99-83 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday night. The Mavericks came into the game with a two-game lead over Denver and Golden State in the race for seventh place in the Western Conference.
Dallas couldn't shake the lowly Sonics _ who lost their club-record 60th game _ until it went on an 18-4 run to build a 20-point advantage in the fourth. Brandon Bass scored 13 off the bench for the Mavericks, and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds in his fourth game since returning from knee and ankle injuries. (More basketball stories.)