Marion, Mavs win 12th straight

MINNEAPOLIS -- Just when Dallas needed it most, Shawn Marion returned to the high-scoring form that has been absent all season.

That's been the story of this remarkable run for the Mavericks.

Marion had a season-high 29 points and 14 rebounds as the Mavericks stretched the league's longest active winning streak to 12 straight games with a 125-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

The Mavericks (44-21) moved into second place in the Western Conference, 2½ games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

"That's easy," Marion said with a chuckle. "I've done that before."

Not recently. Marion, a former UNLV standout, has averaged at least 17 points a game seven times in his career, but he has taken a reduced role on offense this season in order to focus more on defense. Marion entered the game averaging 11.5 points a game and had a season high of 18 before Monday's outburst.

"Every week I tell him how important he is to us and how much as a coach I appreciate what he's done this year in terms of changing his game around," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Caron Butler 23 for Dallas, which has flourished since acquiring Butler and Brendan Haywood from the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline.

Al Jefferson had 36 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota in his return from a two-game suspension because of a DWI arrest. But the Timberwolves committed 26 turnovers and lost their sixth straight.