DALLAS - Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Nov. 9-15. Nowitzki earns the honor for the first time this season and for the 11th time in his career. Nowitzki led the Mavericks to a 3-1 week with a win at home against Houston followed by a pair of road victories in Minnesota and Detroit. Nowitzki averaged 24.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks with a

DALLAS(AP) The Dallas Mavericks ' offense barely had a pulse for most of three quarters. Then Dirk Nowitzki decided to take control. Nowitzki scored a club-record 29 of his 40 points during a frantic fourth-quarter comeback and the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 96-85 on Tuesday night. Nowitzki broke the franchise record of 24 points in any quarter set by Mark Aguirre against Denver on March 24, 1984. ''It was an ugly game,'' Nowitzki said. ''We