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A night after sending one team from LA to the loss column, the Dallas Mavericks will close out their Hollywood stay against the Clippers Saturday from Staples Center.
Dallas handed the defending champion Lakers a 94-80 loss on Friday, as Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the way. Mavs newcomer Shawn Marion recorded 18 points and six rebounds, while Jason Terry added 16 points off the bench in the win.
"We played well together, we competed," said Nowitzki. "The energy was great. We were all fighting for each other."
Jason Kidd had just two points but handed out 11 assists for Dallas. The Mavericks were able to bounce back from their season-opening loss versus Washington.
Meanwhile, the Clippers have lost all three of their games so far and are coming off Friday's 111-98 defeat at Utah.
Eric Gordon led Los Angeles with 22 points, and both Chris Kaman and Baron Davis ended with 21 points and four rebounds for the Clippers, who lost to the Suns and Lakers to begin the season. Al Thornton had 12 points in defeat.
"Those guys buy into the system and I think that's a big thing for them," Kaman said of the Jazz.
The Mavericks went 3-1 against the Clippers a season ago and have won three straight and 15 of the previous 20 meetings between the teams.
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