Phoenix, AZ (My Sportsbook) - Dirk Nowitzki did a little bit of everything, scoring 34 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, as Dallas downed Phoenix, 122-117.

Jason Terry added 25 points off the bench, Jose Barea donated 16 points, while Antoine Wright and Jason Kidd totaled 12 points apiece for the Mavericks, who won for the sixth time in eight contests.

"Every win is big in the West, let's face it," said Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle. "It doesn't matter who you're playing, they all count the same."

Steve Nash led Phoenix with 23 points and 13 assists, while Matt Barnes and Shaquille O'Neal added 21 points apiece with seven and eight rebounds respectively. Leandro Barbosa scored 18 points, and Jason Richardson notched 16 points and seven boards for the slumping Suns, who have lost five games in a row. Phoenix last lost six straight in January 2005.

"We played well and fought well, but we let it slip away," said O'Neal. "We have 18 games left, so our playoffs actually started tonight. We've got to pick it up as a team and see what happens."

The Suns trailed 33-30 after 12 minutes of game action, but Phoenix pulled in front 62-58 heading into the half. However, Dallas came out firing in the decisive third period.

After an O'Neal bank shot handed the Suns a 70-64 edge, the Mavericks reeled off seven points in succession to grab the slim lead. A Nowitzki three-point play, Ryan Hollins slam and Wright jumper totaled the points for a 71-70 game.

Six more points in succession later in the period opened up an 82-74 advantage. Nowitzki's fadeaway jumper and two free throws capped the stretch with 3:56 left in the third stanza. Phoenix rallied to pull within two, and the margin stood at five points, 92-87, heading into the fourth quarter.

Barnes' jumper kept the deficit at five points, 102-97, before Dallas rattled down seven straight points to put the game away. Nowitzki scored the first four points and Kidd's trey capped the spurt. Kidd made 4-of-8 shots and grabbed eight boards to go along with four steals.

Game Notes

Phoenix shot 55.2 percent from the floor, while Dallas made 53.4 percent of its shots...Dallas improved to 15-17 as the visitor this season...Phoenix dropped to 19-12 as the home team...O'Neal passed Elvin Hayes for sixth place on the all-time scoring list.