Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki heads to the bench in the second half of the game after scoring 25 points against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

The Sports Xchange/Los Angeles

Forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth consecutive time, rolling to a 103-93 victory Sunday night at Staples Center.
Center Zaza Pachulia added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks (2-1), who had six players score in double figures.
The Mavericks had three of their starters return. Forward Chandler Parsons (right knee surgery) made his season debut, while guard Deron Williams (left knee sprain) and Wesley Matthews (rest) returned from one-game absences.
Parsons was ineffective, compiling two points, three rebounds and three assists in 11 minutes. Williams finished with 11 points and eight assists, while Matthews had 10 points. Guard Raymond Felton also scored 11 for Dallas, and guard J.J Barea came off the bench to chip in with 10 points and seven assists.
Forward Julius Randle finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Lakers (0-3). Forward Kobe Bryant had 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting, while reserve guard Lou Williams scored 13.
Dallas hit 46 percent of its shots from the floor, while Los Angeles made just 36.5 percent.
Despite their struggles in the first half, the Lakers, who began the game in a 15-0 hole, were only down 54-45 at intermission. They managed just 30.2 percent shooting compared to 43.8 percent for the Mavericks. Dallas also connected on nine of 17 (52.9 percent) three-pointers to four of 16 (25 percent) for Los Angeles before the break.
However, the Lakers enjoyed a considerable edge on free throws, hitting 15 of 19 (78.9 percent) to three of four for the Mavericks. In the third, the Lakers cut the deficit to 64-57 after a three-point basket by rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell with 5:18 to go, but the Mavericks subsequently pulled away.
They closed on a 17-7 run for a 81-64 advantage heading into the fourth. Two free throws by Williams pulled Los Angeles within 97-91 with 2:27 remaining, but that was the closest the Lakers would get.   

Whiteside shines as Heat rally to ground Rockets
Hassan Whiteside scored 25 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 109-89 comeback victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Guard Dwyane Wade finished with 20 points for the Heat, who trailed by as many as 21 points early in the third period and erased a 19-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Rockets 31-12 in the third quarter.
Guard Gerald Green’s three-pointer with 54 seconds remaining in the period tied it at 75-75. Scoreless through the first three periods, forward Chris Bosh gave Miami its first lead 85-83 on a three-pointer with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Bosh’s conversion from behind the arc was part of a 17-0 run that ended on Whiteside’s dunk with 3:44 left for a 97-85 Miami lead. Bosh finished with 10 points. Forward Luol Deng scored 14 points and forward Justise Winslow and guard Tyler Johnson were Miami’s other double-digit scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Whiteside, a center, also had 15 rebounds. Houston was held without a field goal for a 9:02 stretch in the fourth quarter.
The loss was the Rockets’ third straight by 20 points. Guard Marcus Thornton scored 21 points to lead Houston, and guard James Harden finished with 16 points but was held to two points in the second half. The Rockets played without center Dwight Howard, who sat out because of a sore back. Behind Thornton’s 19 first-half points, Houston built an early double-digit lead.
Thornton hit five of six three-pointers as the Rockets converted on 9-of-20 from beyond the arc in the first two periods.
Thornton’s fifth three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining gave Houston its biggest lead of the first half at 63-42.
The Heat missed their first 10 three-point attempts and Bosh missed his first six shots.
In the first quarter, Miami rallied from a nine-point deficit to cut Houston’s lead to 35-30 at the end of the period. Consecutive three-pointers from guard Patrick Beverly and guard Jason Terry negated the early Miami comeback and helped Houston open the second quarter with 10 unanswered points.
Spurs beat Celtics
LaMarcus Aldridge is getting more comfortable with his new team. On Sunday the All-Star power forward helped the San Antonio Spurs’ gray beards stand alone in the NBA history books.
Aldridge had 24 points with 14 rebounds, and the visiting Spurs held off the Boston Celtics 95-87.
The victory enabled the Spurs Big Three of Tim Duncan, Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Manu Ginobili, to become the NBA’s all-time leaders in wins by a trio at 541, surpassing Boston’s Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale.    
“Of course it’s not something that happens often, so for sure it’s something big,” said Ginobili, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
“Of course it feels great. It tells us a lot about how successful we’ve been and the 14 seasons we’ve played together. Even playing so long with each other for so long is very unique.”
The Spurs landed Aldridge as the top free agent prize last summer after starring nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The All-Star big man seems to be adjusting nicely to the Spurs system.