Antoine Walker scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, helping the Dallas Mavericks continue their stronghold over the New Jersey Nets with a 106-93 victory Tuesday night.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) from Germany celebrates one of his 3-point-shots with teammate Danny Fortson (21) in the first half of their game against the New Jersey Nets in Dallas, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004. Dallas won 106-93. [AP]

The Mavs hit their midpoint of the season by winning a fifth straight game, their best thus far. This was the seventh straight time they've beaten the Nets, which is New Jersey's longest current streak against any team.

Nowitzki scored 15 by halftime, then played the second half with a sprained left thumb following a hard foul by Kenyon Martin. Michael Finley, just named the Western Conference player of the week, scored 18 and Steve Nash had 18, too.

Martin enjoyed his lone annual trip to his hometown with a season-high 29 points and nine rebounds. Richard Jefferson added 21 points and seven rebounds. Jason Kidd had 12 assists, but shot just 4-of-11 for 10 points as New Jersey lost its third in a row.

The teams set an NBA record by combining for only 11 turnovers, with Dallas having four and New Jersey committing seven. The Mavs also set a franchise record with no turnovers in the first half.

Coming off their first two-day stretch without a game in nearly three weeks, the Mavericks went ahead for good with 2:08 left in the first quarter. The lead hit 15 before halftime and remained at least seven the rest of the way.

The Nets were within 98-90 on a breakaway dunk by Kerry Kittles with 3:40 left, but Nowitzki's rebound led to a layup by Walker with 1:51 left, and the Mavericks were back up by 12.

The way Dallas protected the lead was significant for a team that lost advantages of 20 and 15 before pulling out overtime victories last week. Those games started the current winning streak.

New Jersey, a loss away from matching its longest losing streak of the season, plays at San Antonio on Wednesday night in a rematch of last season's finals.

The Mavs improved to 18-3 at home, including 9-1 against Eastern teams. They'll try to continue their roll Thursday night at home against the injury-marred Lakers.

Notes:@ The previous record for fewest combined turnovers was 12, set by Cleveland and Boston — six each — on March 7, 1993. ... Mavs marketers pulled off another new one, giving away 5,000 marionettes of Nowitzki. Fans will soon get to pull the strings on Nash and Finley. ... Eddie Griffin, on New Jersey's injured list, was convicted Tuesday of marijuana possession. He'll be sentenced Feb. 13. He's also facing a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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