DALLAS — With each agonizing loss the Seattle SuperSonics creep closer to the top of the team record book.
But it’s a mark they’d rather not have.
Another so-so effort resulted in yet another loss for the Sonics. The Dallas Mavericks handled Seattle twice in eight days, this second one a 111-96 loss Saturday night at American Airlines Center in front of a sell-out crowd of 20,386.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 20 points and nine rebounds. Devin Harris added 17 points and eight assists.
Seattle lost its 10th-straight game and is now tied for the third longest losing streak in franchise history.
Seattle (9-31) is three games away from tying the franchise record of 13 straight losses. And with back-to-back games against Houston and a home date with an improved Atlanta squad, Seattle will have to play well to avoid tying the record.
The setback also was Seattle’s ninth straight road loss, and 12th loss in the last 13 games.
The Mavericks steadily pulled away from the Sonics in the first half and Seattle never curtailed the Mavericks’ momentum.
The Sonics cut the Maverick’s lead to six points, 42-36, midway through the second quarter on a Wally Szczerbiak basket. But Dallas (27-12) finished the quarter on a 24-8 run to take a 66-44 lead at the half.
The Sonics got as close as 12 points in the second half.
Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo still has not figured out how to get his team working together as they did earlier in the year. At times the Sonics played hard, but Seattle could not consistently compete against a playoff-caliber team like Dallas for the duration of the game.
“The biggest thing is we played a basketball game tonight,” Carlesimo said. “We haven’t been able to say that in a couple games. Our guys competed against a very good team in their building, so there were a lot of good signs, but not enough to win.”
Szczerbiak finished with a game-high 26 points, the 28th time Szczerbiak has scored in double figures this season. The usually talkative Szczerbiak surprisingly declined comment afterwards, saying he’d let his play do the talking.
“You see Wally’s stats but I think that’s his best defensive game,” Carlesimo said. “He did a good job in some tough match ups guarding some people.”
Nick Collison put in another workman-like effort, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds, his 10th double-double of the year.
Seattle rookie Kevin Durant struggled in his return to Texas. The University of Texas product shot 3-of-12 from the field and tied a season-low with six points in 25 minutes.
Durant said he’s still upbeat, even with all of the losing.
“I honestly have got confidence that things are going to turn around,” Durant said. “And that’s how you’ve got to be. So I’m going to stay positive and hopefully everything will work out for the best.”
Earl Watson, who finished with 10 points and six assists, said it’s tough for young players like Durant and fellow rookie Jeff Green to develop under these circumstances. But Watson said that’s part of the process of getting better in the NBA.
“The reality of where we are at right now is we are young team,” Watson said. “It’s not easy. We shouldn’t have to put these expectations on these young guys. They’re going to be great. But for their first year, it’s not fair. So we have to help them.”
Mavericks 111, Supersonics 96
FGFTReb
SEATTLEMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Green24:442-66-60-21110
Collison37:315-76-65-120216
Thomas28:213-60-00-11346
Watson24:444-91-11-46110
Durant24:403-120-11-2016
Szczerbiak30:189-158-81-41126
Wilcox19:112-51-40-3115
Ridnour23:163-73-30-1559
Wilkins12:003-50-01-1106
Petro3:060-10-00-0000
West12:091-60-00-1112
Totals 35-7925-299-41191796
Percentages: FG .443, FT .862. 3-Point Goals: 1-6, .167 (Watson 1-2, Durant 0-1, West 0-1, Szczerbiak 0-2). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 17 (23 PTS). Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 16 (Watson 5, Collison 4, Green 2, Ridnour 2, Durant, Szczerbiak, West). Steals: 6 (West 3, Watson 2, Thomas). Technical Fouls: None.
FGFTReb
DALLASMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
JoHoward37:276-143-30-51517
Nowitzki34:3510-160-10-96320
Dampier21:451-21-23-9123
Harris24:297-133-41-28317
Jones14:201-40-00-0203
Terry29:546-111-20-22115
Stackhouse17:124-100-01-31210
Bass19:324-61-44-4329
Hassell18:433-50-00-4316
Diop20:083-72-24-8028
Barea1:551-10-00-1103
Totals 46-8911-1813-472821111
Percentages: FG .517, FT .611. 3-Point Goals: 8-19, .421 (Jo.Howard 2-3, Stackhouse 2-3, Terry 2-7, Barea 1-1, Jones 1-3, Harris 0-1, Nowitzki 0-1). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 15 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 8 (Diop 3, Dampier 2, Bass, Jo.Howard, Nowitzki). Turnovers: 14 (Dampier 4, Stackhouse 3, Terry 2, Barea, Harris, Jo.Howard, Jones, Nowitzki). Steals: 9 (Jo.Howard 3, Nowitzki 3, Jones 2, Bass). Technical Fouls: None.
Seattle24202824—96
Dallas33332322—111
A—20,386 (20,468). T—2:09.
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