BOSTON — Dirk Nowitzki finished with 37 points, including 22 in the second half, as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 99-90 in a marquee matchup of first place teams. Nowitzki shot 14-of-22 from the field and went on a nine point unanswered scoring spree in the third quarter which gave the Mavericks a lead they wouldn't give up. Jason Kidd scored 13 points and added 17 assists for the Mavericks, who had lost

DALLAS — Brad Richards and the Dallas Stars are earning points on home ice. Now they have to take that same sense of urgency on the road. Mike Modano scored his 551st career goal, Richards had three assists, and the Stars maintained their home dominance over the Minnesota Wild with a 4-3 victory on Monday night. Loui Eriksson, Tom Wandell and Matt Niskanen added goals for the Stars, 11-2-2 in their past 15 home games.