The Basketball Diaries

San Antonio Spurs 88 Dallas Mavericks 81

The Mavericks are in trouble. Not only did they lose to another winning team on Sunday (Since the Jason Kidd trade, the Mavs are 0-8 against teams with winning records) but they also lost their best player for a few weeks. Dirk Nowitzki landed awkwardly on his leg during the 3rd quarter, and had to be helped off the court. The way things are in the west, that's long enough for the Mavs to fall out of the playoffs. "I fell awkwardly and my left leg got caught underneath of me," Nowitzki said in a statement. "I am going to get re-evaluated in the morning and I hope to have more information then." Manu Ginobili had 26 points, and Tim Duncan had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Spurs.

Golden State Warriors 115 Los Angeles Lakers 111

The game was a lot closer than the Warriors would have liked, as they nearly blew a 26-point lead, but Stephen Jackson hit two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the game to help Golden State hold the Lakers off. Those final 6 points gave Jackson 31 on the night. "He has made big shots for us all year," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "I don't know how he does it. We put him in a good position where he was open." Kobe Bryant did everything he could for the Lakers, finished with 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists, but it wasn't enough.

Denver Nuggets 109 Toronto Raptors 100

Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony were the stars of this game, as they scored 36 and 33 points respectively, but Kenyon Martin was the real reason the Nuggets beat the Raptors on Sunday. His defense on Chris Bosh in the 4th quarter was the key as he held the big man scoreless in the final 12 minutes. "Kenyon Martin's defense on Bosh was incredible and got better as the game went on," George Karl said. "You win games with stops more than making shots. I thought Kenyon was the star of the game." Of course, Bosh is so good that even with Martin's defense, he finished only one assist shy of a triple-double (17 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists).

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 95 Pistons 83