DALLAS — Richard Jefferson bounded right out of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's doghouse.

Knowing he was among the guys Popovich thought "played like dogs" in the opener, Jefferson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half to help San Antonio beat the Dallas Mavericks, 102-88, in Game 2 last night to tie their first-round series at a game apiece.

"My teammates were looking for me, coming off the pick-and-roll and throwing it back to me," Jefferson said. "That's pretty much my game. After I struggled the last game, I think there was a concerted effort to get me involved."

Tim Duncan was San Antonio's second-half star, when he scored 17 of his 25 points, often just in time to douse Dallas rallies. He also had 17 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki missed six of his first seven shots, but led Dallas with 24 points.

Game 3 is in San Antonio tomorrow night.

MAGIC 92, BOBCATS 77

Vince Carter scored 19 points, Dwight Howard added 15 and host Orlando took a 2-0 series lead with a victory over Charlotte.

The Magic's star combo was less than stellar, but took over when it counted most. They combined for 21 second-half points to help Orlando build a 20-point lead and hold on late.

"Fortunate thing for us," Carter said, "is we have a lot of weapons."

NOTES

Thunder: Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks has been named the NBA's coach of the year after engineering the league's best turnaround. The Thunder won 27 more games this season than they did a year ago, going 50-32 and earning the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.