Mavericks Rout Magic 93-76

Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson challenged his struggling team to play with more energy and passion.

Nelson got what he wanted, and the Mavericks came away with a rare victory over a contender.

Gary Trent had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Finley added 18 points and the Mavericks ended a four-game losing streak with a 93-76 rout of the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

"Each guy needed to look at themselves, and I think the fellows did," Nelson said. "When you're on a losing streak like we were, everybody has to do what they can to scratch out a victory."

A.C. Green had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Shawn Bradley had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which held Magic guard Penny Hardaway to seven points, 8.5 under his average.

"I'm just a guy who creates for everybody else," Hardaway said. "I only shot nine times tonight so it wasn't like I had a really bad game."

Dallas won behind sound defense, limiting Orlando to 38.8 percent shooting from the field, and with a 49-37 rebounding advantage.

"We made a commitment to defense," said Dallas point guard Steve Nash, who had 11 assists. "We were determined down the stretch. There was no hesitation."

Nick Anderson's 18 points paced Orlando, which lost its third straight. Derek Strong added 13 points, Dominique Wilkins 12 and Isaac Austin 10 for the Magic.

The Magic seemed lethargic after playing Wednesday night in San Antonio, an 81-79 loss.

"We were very flat and we couldn't get anything going offensively," Orlando coach Chuck Daly said.

Daly was ejected with 1:34 left in the third quarter after picking up a double-technical for going onto the court to protest a no-call.

Robert Pack missed both technical free throws for the Mavericks, but Dallas still finished the quarter with a 9-5 run tbring a 68-59 lead into the fourth period.

Pack scored four of Dallas' first six points in the final quarter, and Finley's steal and dunk completed a 12-4 run to push Dallas' lead to 80-63.

Orlando could not get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

Dallas held a 46-44 halftime lead behind Green's 11 points and eight rebounds.

Notes: Green played in his 999th consecutive game on Thursday night, extending his league record. Green is expected to reach the 1,000-game mark Saturday night at home vs. Vancouver. ... The Mavericks are still awaiting a lab report to identify the mysterious substance that made the Reunion Arena court slippery. It caused the start of Tuesday night's game against Phoenix to be delayed for 70 minutes. Team officials feared a league fine for the late start, but no penalty has been issued ... Nelson has been a frequent trader in his two years with the Mavericks, but Nelson said he did not pursue any deals prior to Thursday's trading deadline. ... Orlando had won eight of its previous 10 meetings with Dallas. ... Orlando's Bo Outlaw missed the second half with a bruised calf. ... Dallas' Samaki Walker sat out the second half with the flu.

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