No Brook, no win for Brooklyn

DALLAS — Harrison Barnes scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 13 after a slow start in his first game since reaching 30,000 points and the sluggish Dallas Mavericks beat the lowly Brooklyn Nets 105-96 on Friday night.

The Mavericks, appearing flat three nights after a raucous celebration of Nowitzki’s milestone, trailed in the fourth quarter with the NBA’s worst team missing leading scorer Brook Lopez because of an ankle injury. But they pulled away and matched a season best with a fourth straight win.

Nowitzki, who missed his first four shots after making the first six on his historic night, had a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth to help get Dallas going.

Isaiah Whitehead scored 24 points for the Nets (11-53), who have dropped 36 of their past 40 games but were coming off a pair of strong showings against likely playoff teams — a win at Memphis and a loss at Atlanta. Brooklyn finished a season-high, eight-game road trip.

“I just think we hit a wall as a team, but I’m proud of the guys for their effort tonight,” said Jeremy Lin, who had 18 points. “I think everyone in here, probably everyone who has been on this road trip, is feeling it a little bit.”

The Mavericks were without new center Nerlens Noel, who was held out because of left knee soreness. He came from Philadelphia at the trading deadline.

Dallas rookie Yogi Ferrell had 17 points in his first game against the team he played 10 games for early in the season.

Ferrell was with Brooklyn’s Long Island team in the NBA Development League when the Mavericks signed him in late January because they didn’t have a healthy point guard.

TIP-INS Nets: Coach Kenny Atkinson said he didn’t expect Lopez to be out long. He said Lopez sprained his left ankle early against Atlanta in the previous game but played through it . ... Jeremy Lin scored 18 points, and Trevor Booker added 15 with a team-high seven rebounds . ... The Nets were outrebounded 47-35. —AP