NBA Roundup: Who Will Stop The Mavericks?

Notes from Wednesday's games in the National Basketball Association ...

• Dirk Is OK, Folks. Despite an early Dirk Nowitzki panic (the Mavericks forward left in the first quarter with "blurred vision"), Dallas continued its magical winning ways, beating the Raptors 117-98 for its 11th straight win. Josh Howard scored 26 points for the Mavs. Nowitzki said that he expects to play Friday against Sacramento. Owner Mark Cuban seems to be pretty much ignoring the streak on his blog, by the way, instead making sure that you choose the right TV for that special Christmas gift.

• All That Jazz. The losing streak is over! Utah (13-2) tops San Antonio to end the nightmare that was a stretch of two consecutive losses.

• Net Gains. Another losing streak ended (six games) as Vince Carter scored 23 points and Jason Kidd had 19 to lead the Nets over the Celtics 106-103.

• Magic Ink. OK, Dwight Howard scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Magic over the SuperSonics, 94-84, for their fifth straight win. But that's not the real story. Before the game, Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Blog unraveled the startling mystery of Gilbert Arenas' latest tattoo. Enjoy the journalism here.

• The Sun Also Rises. Phoenix almost blew a 22-point lead, but Steve Nash simply would not let that happen ... not on his watch. His eight points during a 19-5 fourth-quarter run led the Suns to a 102-91 win over the Rockets.