Parsons and Chandler boost Mavs past Clippers, 129-99

DALLAS -- Tyson Chandler figured the Dallas Mavericks might have a little fight in them after an embarrassing home loss to Cleveland.

With the 7-foot-1 center giving his team a chance around the basket against DeAndre Jordan, and J.J. Barea pestering Chris Paul in the backcourt, the Mavericks bounced back in a big way against theLos Angeles Clippers.

Chandler Parsons scored 22 points, Chandler had his 26th double-double after missing most of the last game against Los Angeles and the Mavericks ran away to a 129-99 victory Friday night.

Parsons made five of six from 3-point range for a team that has been in a prolonged shooting slump to help Dallas win by 30 after sitting for two days on a 33-point home loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

''I wanted to see how our guys were going to respond the following day,'' said Chandler, who matched Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis with 14 points and had 12 rebounds. ''And I thought all of our guys responded on the practice court. You could tell guys were kind of fed up with the way things are going.''

It was an important win for the Mavericks, who started the day in seventh place in the tightly packed Western Conference but pulled within a half-game of the fifth-place Clippers.

DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 18 rebounds, but wasn't nearly as dominant as his last visit to Dallas when he had a career-high 27 rebounds after Chandler went out early with an ankle injury.

The Mavericks lost to the Clippers 115-98 a month ago when Ellis also left early in the game with a hip injury. With all the weapons available, Dallas' offense looked like the NBA-leading unit from early in the season.

''We knew it was coming,'' Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. ''I thought we would handle it better, and we did at the beginning of the game. And then it went downhill from there.''

With Parsons setting the tone, the Mavericks were 16 of 28 from 3-point range and ended a 17-game streak of shooting less than 50 percent from the field, finishing at 61 percent in coach Rick Carlisle's 330th win in Dallas to pass Dick Motta for second place on the franchise list.

''We were due to play better,'' Carlisle said after his team pulled away when the Clippers got within 65-62 early in the third quarter. ''The challenge now is to sustain this. It's going to be a challenge, but we made significant strides tonight.''

J.J. Redick had 17 points for the Clippers, but just two after halftime, and Chris Paul 11 points, seven assists and five steals in an otherwise frustrating game as Los Angeles awaits the return of Blake Griffin (elbow surgery) and super sub Jamal Crawford (calf injury).

The All-Star guard showed it when he was called for a flagrant foul with a swipe at J.J. Barea on a breakaway layup in the fourth quarter. Paul and Barea, who tried to make Paul uncomfortable with tight defense all over the court, had a brief exchange the same way Chandler and Hedu Turkoglu did in the first half when they got tangled going after a rebound.

''They can have this one,'' Paul said after the Clippers missed a chance to finish a three-game season sweep of Dallas. ''This was ugly. You have to flush it.''

PERIMETER PROWESS

Charlie Villanueva led three double-figure scorers off the bench with 19 points and made three from long range. Devin Harris and Barea had 15 apiece. Nowitzki was one of four Dallas players with two 3-pointers apiece. Rajon Rondo led Dallas with seven assists, including a behind-the-back pass to Ellis for an easy jumper after getting one of his four steals in the backcourt.

JORDAN'S ADVENTURES

After getting one of his three 20-20 games in the last visit to Dallas, the highlight for Jordan this time came nearly 30 feet from the basket when the league leader in field goal percentage made his first career 3-pointer. The 6-foot-11 center in his seventh season chased down a loose ball and pulled up for a left-handed jumper as the shot clock was expiring. But the career 42 percent free throw shooter had an air-ball from the line later in the first quarter, and another one in the second half.

TIP-INS

Clippers: Rivers said Griffin ''went very hard'' in a workout Friday and could play Sunday at home against Houston. Griffin has missed 14 games after surgery for a staph infection in his right elbow. ... Matt Barnes scored 14 points and was 3 of 9 from 3-point range.

Mavericks: Al-Farouq Aminu was out after spraining his left shoulder in the loss to Cleveland. ... Amare Stoudemire left the game in the second quarter with an injured finger on his left hand and returned with it taped late in the third.

UP NEXT:

Clippers: Houston at home on Sunday.

Mavericks: Oklahoma City at home on Monday.