Spencer Dinwiddie of the Dallas Mavericks drives to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets on March 16, 2022 in Brooklyn, New York City. Photo: VCG
Spencer Dinwiddie scored a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the Dallas Mavericks staged a dramatic comeback to end the Brooklyn Nets' four-game winning streak on Wednesday.
Dinwiddie's 25-foot winner sealed a pulsating tussle in Brooklyn which had been dominated by a thrilling duel between Nets star Kevin Durant and the Mavericks' Luka Doncic.
Durant looked to have edged the Nets into a game-winning position with 10 seconds remaining after sinking a three-pointer from 27 feet to put Brooklyn 111-110 ahead, just after Doncic's fadeaway jumper gave Dallas a slender 110-108 lead.
But with the last play of the game, Doncic worked the ball to Dinwiddie on the edge of the arc and the shooting guard made no mistake with the three for a 113-111 victory.
It capped a superb fourth-quarter performance from Dinwiddie, who scored 15 of his 22 points in the final period.
Dinwiddie, who joined Dallas in a trade from the Washington Wizards last month, insisted Doncic, who finished with 37 points with nine rebounds and nine assists, should take the credit. "That was Luka making a play rather than me doing anything special," Dinwiddie said.
Brooklyn looked to have taken a decisive advantage after leading 91-79 at the end of the third quarter in front of a sellout 17,981 crowd at Brooklyn's Barclays Center arena. But Dinwiddie's late burst of scoring helped the Mavs outscore the hosts 34-20 in the final period to seal victory.
Dinwiddie's game-winner gave Dallas its eighth win in nine games and its 15th comeback from a double-digit deficit this season. It also was Dinwiddie's second straight game-winner after the former Brooklyn guard hit the game-winning three-pointer Sunday in Boston.
Durant led the Nets scoring with 23 points, while Goran Dragic added 21.
The Mavericks improved to 43-26 with the win to remain fourth in the Western Conference while the Nets fell to 36-34 in the East.
In Sacramento, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 36 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks overcome a spirited Kings side.
A neck-and-neck encounter went down to the final few minutes before the Bucks pulled clear thanks to a combined 27 points in the final quarter from Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday.
In other games, Devin Booker scored 36 points to inspire the Western Conference-leading Phoenix Suns to a blowout 129-112 win over Houston.
In Washington, Nikola Jokic scored 29 points in the Denver Nuggets' 127-109 win over the Wizards.
In Minnesota, Karl Anthony-Towns followed up Monday's 60-point masterclass with 30 points as the Timberwolves romped past the struggling Los Angeles Lakers 124-104.
The Lakers were never in contention as Minnesota led from start to finish, outscoring the visitors 31-17 in the first quarter alone.