James Harden drove to the basket with his potent left hand, intent on breaking a late tie against the Dallas Mavericks.

His layup attempt never reached the rim.

Elton Brand's critical block led to a pair of tiebreaking free throws by O.J. Mayo, and Dirk Nowitzki hit several big shots and finished with 19 points to turn back a Jeremy Lin-led rally in the Mavericks' 105-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

"I had two or three. Which one was it?" Brand said when asked about the block, managing to keep a straight face for a few seconds before breaking into a big grin.

He knew which one it was.

"He's one of the best finishers in the league," Brand said. "I just tried to do what I could to get a stop right there."

The Mavericks got plenty of stops on Harden. The NBA's fourth-leading scorer finished with 20 points but had just five midway through the third quarter and was held to 5-of-23 shooting. He barely extended his career-best streak of games with at least 20 points to 22.

Lin was the bigger threat in the fourth quarter. With Houston trailing 93-82, he hit two free throws and consecutive driving layups to start a 15-4 surge that tied the score at 97. He also had a 3-pointer, but missed three of six free throws down the stretch.

Associated Press

(China Daily 01/18/2013 page23)