DALLAS — With one teammate out with an injury and another in foul trouble, the Dallas Mavericks needed a special effort from star Dirk Nowitzki.

And Nowitzki delivered with 44 points — 14 in overtime — to send the Mavericks to a 115-114 victory over the Chicago Bulls last night.

Jason Terry, Dallas' No. 2 scorer at 20.2 points per game, will be out for an extended stretch after sustaining a broken bone in his left hand in the first half.

Josh Howard, who spent long stretches on the bench because of fouls, finished with 13 points, almost five below his average.

So it was up to Nowitzki to take control after missing 10 of 15 field-goal attempts in the first half.

"Unbelievable performance," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "He just stayed patient and into the game. Down the stretch his shot-making was phenomenal."

The Bulls tried several defensive tactics to hold down Nowitzki in the second half and overtime, with little success.

"That's why he's a superstar," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We tried trapping him, we switched on him, but we couldn't get to him."

Nowitzki connected on five of seven shots from the field in the overtime and hit all four free throws to help the Mavericks win for the fifth time in six games.

Nowitzki converted three straight jumpers on Dallas' first three possessions of the overtime for a 103-99 lead.

Chicago closed to 113-111 with 3.8 seconds left in overtime on Tyrus Thomas' 3-pointer.

But Nowitzki swished a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds left to close out the Bulls, who got within one on Thomas' 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

Nowitzki fell two points short of his season high set on Dec. 13 against Oklahoma City, going 16 for 34 from the field, making all 11 free throws, pulling down nine rebounds and blocking three shots.

"I just had to stay aggressive and look for my shot, especially with (Terry) out," Nowitzki said. "(Terry) is instant offense off the bench."

Ben Gordon scored 28 points, Thomas added 23 points and 12 rebounds, and rookie Derrick Rose had 22 points and nine assists for the Bulls.

Jose Juan Barea came off the bench to score 20 points for Dallas.

Terry got injured in the first half and was ruled out at halftime after X-rays showed the break, finishing with eight points and four assists in 16 minutes. Terry told team officials he wasn't sure when the injury occurred. His condition will be evaluated tomorrow.

The Mavericks will certainly miss their high-scoring sixth man.

"He almost had tears in his eyes, that's how much he cares," Nowitzki said of Terry. "We told him we got this one for him and we would hold down the fort. He's the best sixth man in the league and we'll miss him dearly."

NETS 114, NUGGETS 70

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Devin Harris scored 14 of his 28 points from the free-throw line and New Jersey won its season-high fourth straight game. New Jersey built a season-high 20-point lead at the half and extended it to 37 points after three quarters in handing the Nuggets their worst loss of the season.

PISTONS 126, BUCKS 121

MILWAUKEE — Allen Iverson and Richard Hamilton combined for 15 of Detroit's 17 points in overtime and the Pistons rallied for an overtime win over Milwaukee. Hamilton finished with 38 points, a career high as a reserve, and Iverson added 27 points and nine assists.

76ERS 94, HEAT 84

PHILADELPHIA — Andre Miller and Marreese Speights scored 15 points, and Royal Ivey ignited a second-half comeback with 11 off the bench as Philadelphia beat Miami. Dwyane Wade had 21 points and Mario Chalmers added 18 for Miami.

CLIPPERS 121, HAWKS 97

ATLANTA — Al Thornton scored 31 points and Zach Randolph had 25 in Los Angeles' victory. Atlanta, which saw its two-game winning streak end, played its first game this season without starting point guard Mike Bibby, who injured his foot the previous night at Charlotte and wasn't in uniform for the game.

ROCKETS 107, TIMBERWOLVES 90

HOUSTON — Yao Ming scored 30 points, Rafer Alston added 22 and Houston rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half to beat Minnesota. Tracy McGrady added 15 points and Ron Artest 14 for the Rockets, who also overcame Al Jefferson's 36 points to beat Minnesota for the sixth straight time.

GRIZZLIES 78, RAPTORS 70

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — O.J. Mayo scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth period, including nine straight, and Memphis held on to defeat Toronto. Hakim Warrick matched Mayo's 16 points and both grabbed eight rebounds. Mike Conley added 15 points and eight assists for Memphis.

ELSEWHERE

Trade: The Charlotte Bobcats traded forward Adam Morrison and reserve guard Shannon Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers for forward Vladimir Radmanovic. Also yesterday, the Bobcats said starting shooting guard Raja Bell will miss at least two games with a groin injury. Morrison, due about $5.3 million next season in the final year of his rookie contract, was averaging just 4.5 points while shooting 36 percent from the field. The deal also gives the Lakers some salary-cap relief. Radmanovic is owed $6.5 million next season and $6.9 million a year later in a player option.