( dpa )- The night began with the focus on Jason Kidd and Devin Harris. By the time it ended, Dirk Nowitzki had cast the focus on him.
Nowitzki scored 34 points to become the franchise's all-time leading scorer as the Dallas Mavericks rolled to a 111-91 home victory over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday night.
"Hopefully I've got a lot of good basketball, a lot of points left in me for this franchise," Nowitzki said. "All of those records are going to look really nice in 20, 30 years when you look back and you can tell your grandchildren about them."
This was the first meeting between Kidd and Harris, point guards who switched teams in a blockbuster eight-player trade February 19. Kidd had spent six-plus seasons with the Nets, leading them to NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. Harris was the point guard when Dallas reached the 2006 Finals.
But the night ended up belonging to Nowitzki , the German juggernaut who has been the face of the franchise since arriving from Europe 10 years ago. The 2007 MVP had one of his best games of the season, helping the Mavericks end a three-game slide.
"Nobody's on him probably as hard as I am," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said, "He's allowed me to try to bring the best of him."
Nowitzki made 10-of-18 shots and 12-of-12 free throws, adding nine rebounds. With 4:50 remaining, he made a jumper over Richard Jefferson to give him 16,644 points, one more than Rolando Blackman - who also has ties to Germany.
"I'm glad it's a good guy and someone who plays the game of basketball the right way," Blackman, the team's director of player development, told mavs.com. "I respect him very much. We're both true Mavericks and he's a guy who's very worthy."
"It's a great honour to be the all-time leading scorer for this franchise," said Nowitzki , who was suspended from Thursday's loss to Houston for a flagrant foul. "Ro Blackman is a friend of mine and he coached the German National team one year so I'm really, really close to him."
The Nets were never really close to the Mavericks en route to their fifth straight loss. They trailed, 24-15, after one quarter and 52-34 at halftime after Nowitzki scored eight points in an 18-7 run that closed the second quarter.
The game began with Harris receiving a nice ovation from the sellout crowd at the American Airlines Centre. However, he managed just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting.
"You want to play well and you want to win," Harris said of his return to Dallas. "But those things happen and you move on."
Nowitzki's historic basket came on a pass from Kidd, who had 13 assists against his former team. The Mavericks are 5-5 with the All-Star in the lineup.
"The emotions weren't as they have been in the past," Kidd said. "It was just the first couple of minutes, seeing the guys in warmups and then understanding it wasn't practice, it was a game we needed to win."
Jerry Stackhouse scored 20 points and Brandon Bass added 19 for Dallas. Richard Jefferson scored 22 points and Marcus Williams had 15 for New Jersey, which sot under 39 per cent.
Houston 106, New Orleans 96 =
The host Rockets won their 18th straight game, matching the fourth-longest streak in NBA history. Tracy McGrady had 41 points and nine assists for Houston, which has not lost since January 27.
McGrady had 12 points and five assists in a huge second quarter as the Rockets turned a six-point deficit into a 59-46 lead. Chris Paul had 37 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, who played without All-Star forward David West and had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Atlanta 114, Miami 111 (OT), completion of suspended game =
Atlanta 97, Miami 94=
In the completion of a December 19 game successfully protested by the Heat - the first in the NBA in 25 years - neither team scored in the final 51 seconds, allowing host Atlanta to keep its win.
"It's a bizarre situation," said Heat coach Pat Riley, who also was the losing coach in the last successful protest by the Spurs against the Lakers in 1982. "It doesn't happen very often. The guys weren't excited about it."
After a 15-minute break, Joe Johnson scored a season-high 39 points in the regularly scheduled game for the Hawks (26-36), who moved past New Jersey for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Boston 119, Memphis 89 =
At Memphis, Kevin Garnett became the 32nd player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points as Boston rolled to its eighth straight victory. Ray Allen scored 23 points, Paul Pierce added 19 and Garnett 17 as the Celtics handed the Grizzlies their 16th loss in 18 games.
Cleveland 103, Indiana 95 =
LeBron James scored 38 points and Brazilian Anderson Varejao added 15 and 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won five straight home games. The Pacers have lost three in a row.
Utah 132, Denver 105 =
Turkey's Mehmet Okur made six 3-pointers and scored 27 points with 11 rebounds as the Jazz erupted for 77 points in the first half and won their 18th straight home game. Allen Iverson scored 28 points for Denver.
Golden State 104, Orlando 95 =
Baron Davis scored 33 points for the Warriors, who completed a 3-1 road trip. Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points for the Magic, who had a five-game home winning streak snapped.
Portland 120, New York 114=
Brandon Roy scored eight of his 27 points in overtime to help the visiting Trail Blazers overcome a career-high 45 points by Nate Robinson, his former college teammate. New York has lost six in a row.
Charlotte 100, Washington 97=
Jason Richardson scored 34 points as visiting Charlotte set a franchise record with its fifth straight win. Antawn Jamison had 30 points and 10 boards for Washington.
Timberwolves 99, Clippers 96=
Al Jefferson had 30 points and 12 rebounds and Randy Foye scored 29 points to lead visiting Minnesota.