The Boston Celtics continued their dry spell on Wednesday, losing to the Dallas Mavericks 112-100 at home, their fourth straight loss.

Dirk Nowitzki had 36 points and 9 rebounds, while Keith Van Horn had 21 points coming off the bench.

Paul Pierce scored 21 points while Antoine Walker had 18.

Boston should get back on the winning track on Friday as they visit Atlanta.

The Mavericks went into the Palace and defeated the Pistons by a final score of 95-88, an impressive road victory.

Josh Howard led Dallas with 24 points, while Dirk Nowitzki had 22 and 10.

``I'm not worried about how many points they have or what their shooting percentage was,'' new Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. ``I'm happy with the fact that we are taking teams deeper into the shot clock and making them rush shots. Earlier in the season, that didn't happen -- we were only playing defense for 12 or 14 seconds. To win, you have to play defense for the whole 24.''

Ben Wallace's 17 rebounds weren't nearly enough as the Pistons dropped their fourth game in their last five games.

Peja Stojakovic hit six 3-pointers as he finished with a season-high 38 points, and the Kings avoided a regular-season sweep by Dallas with a 109-101 victory Thursday night.

``The basket felt like a swimming pool,'' Stojakovic said. ``I know I've been inconsistent lately, but you just have to keep playing through it. I was just being aggressive from the first minute. ... I know I was struggling, but I couldn't sit home and cry. I had to play and get back in shape.''

``He just looked so much like the Peja of last year tonight,'' Rick Adelman said. ``He wasn't just standing out there. He was pursuing the ball. It was great to see.''

Dirk Nowitzki had another impressive night, scoring 35 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.

Shooting 2-for-23 from the 3-point line is a surefire way to break a 3-game losing streak and that is exactly what the Warriors did on Tuesday in a 109-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and Keith Van Horn scored 24 points in the Dallas Mavericks' fourth straight victory.

Baron Davis had 22 points and eight assists before fouling out for the Warriors. Mickael Pietrus scored 22 points, and Derek Fisher added 14.

Forward Mike Dunleavy, Jr. was ejected in the third quarter after picking up an offensive foul. Dunleavy got in the face and yelled at referee Bill Spooner and took off his jersey and threw it into the crowd as he walked off the court into the locker room.

Dunleavy's ejection thinned out an already thin frontline, since the Warriors were missing Troy Murphy who is attending to the death of his grandmother.

With the resignation of long time Dallas Maverick coach Don Nelson, Avery Johnson has stepped into his new role as head coach fairly seamlessly.  

This weekend, Johnson?s representatives are meeting with Mavericks? owner Mark Cuban to reach an agreement for a long-term deal.

"I can only trust a man for his word, and I have a great relationship with Mark," Johnson said Tuesday. "I'm the coach of the Mavericks, not interim. Interim coaches don't really have stability."

Johnson is still being paid under his players contract which will net him $1.1 million this season.

The Mavericks' victories during the Avery Johnson era might only be against the Bobcats and Hornets, but it is a good start for the man who was picked to replace legendary head coach Don Nelson.

In their 103-86 win over New Orleans, Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 8 rebounds.  Devin Harris had a season-high 17 points.

Michael Finley added 16 points and Josh Howard had 15 for Dallas.

Rookie J.R. Smith had a season-high 27 points and Jamaal Magliore added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost six of eight.

Donn Nelson, son of former Mavericks' coach Don Nelson, has told The Oregonian that it would take a very special situation for him to leave Dallas, as his name has been thrown out as a possiblity to fill Portland's post.

"I love the city, I love the people, and for me to work with my dad, and a guy as great as Mark -- who has given us the wherewithal to put a competitive group out there -- it would just be really difficult for me to leave," Nelson said. "It would take an incredible offer for me to even consider it."

Nelson, who is also an assistant coach for the Mavericks, filled in as head coach for the Mavericks in the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, going 15-8, while his father recovered from cancer surgery. He is considered one of the bright, young minds in the game and also is considered one of the pioneers in discovering and developing foreign players.

"I'm not going to say I will never be going to go through that door again, but it would have to be something pretty darn special to leave Dallas," Nelson, 44, said. "There is a part of me that misses the chess game and the exhilaration of being right there in the heat of the battle, but the other part -- the tough losses -- I don't miss."

The second-winningest coach in NBA history has decided to call it quits so he can spend more time with his family.

Dallas Mavericks head coach Don Nelson resigned Saturday and assistant coach Avery Johnson, who has coached several games this year and was being groomed to be Nelson's successor, takes over the team immediately.

"Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN.com that Nelson resigned Saturday "for family and other reasons."

"Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history, has missed several games in recent weeks to be with his wife while she recovers from surgery."

Nelson also coached the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.

Sam Cassell, Michael Olowokandi and Eddie Griffin returned to the Minnesota line-up on Tuesday, helping the Timberwolves to a big road win in Dallas.

Cassell scored 15 points in the 100-91 win over the Mavericks.

``We don't have a lot of time,'' said Garnett, who also had 12 rebounds and seven assists. ``Every game is a desperate game. That has to be our mind-set.''

``It's nice to have some different people you can go to,'' Minnesota coach Kevin McHale said. ``All three of them did a tremendous job, especially for not playing in a while.''

Cassell had missed seven straight, and 22 of the last 33, with a strained right hamstring, while Olowokandi and Griffin both had missed the last nine games.

Jason Terry scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 12 assists for the Dallas Mavericks, who defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-93 on Sunday afternoon.

Kevin Garnett finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists for the Timberwolves, though he departed briefly after getting poked in the right eye in the second quarter.

With the loss, the Timberwolves fell to 32-32.