Jason Terry

DALLAS (AP) - With two guards out temporarily and two key big men out much longer, the Phoenix Suns are relying even more on NBA MVP Steve Nash .

Opponents know it, too, especially the newly defensive-oriented Dallas Mavericks .

Jason Terry scored 23 points and helped hold Nash, his predecessor as the Dallas point guard, to one basket in the second half, sending the Mavericks past the Suns 102-96 Wednesday night.

''We were just trying to contain him,'' Terry said. ''He's the toughest guard in the league to stay with.''

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Dallas. Josh Howard scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds in his second game back from a bad ankle injury, and Marquis Daniels scored 15 before leaving with a strained neck caused by a flagrant foul from Phoenix center Kurt Thomas .

Meeting in Dallas for the first time since Nash embarrassed Terry for the winning basket in a second-round playoff series, Terry outplayed the reigning MVP and former Mavs star this time - though it wasn't a fair fight because of Phoenix's depleted lineup.

Terry made 10 of 22 shots with four assists. He had seven points during an early 15-2 run that put Dallas ahead for good and nailed a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to slow a Suns rally. He pumped his fist when time expired, relieved that Phoenix bounced back from a last-minute loss to the Lakers to win for the sixth time in seven games.

Nash was 6-of-18 for 20 points with five assists. He scored only four points, two on free throws, over nearly 21 minutes in the final two quarters as Phoenix lost its third straight since winning nine in a row.

''I didn't shoot well and you have to give them some credit for that,'' Nash said. ''If we were a healthy team, we would be concerned but it's tough when you are playing with a short bench. We've just got to stay confident.''

The Suns are losing their grip on their status as the league's highest-scoring team. This was the fourth straight game they've been held under 100 points.

''With Leandro Barbosa 's speed being out and not having James Jones to hit some shots, we don't quite have enough right now,'' said coach Mike D'Antoni, whose lineup also is missing Amare Stoudemire and Brian Grant . ''We just have to find ways to win, hold serve until we get some of our reinforcements back.''

They'll also have to do it away from the comforts of home. This was Phoenix's league-low seventh road game and the start of a stretch of eight of 10 games on the road.

Shawn Marion led the Suns with 23 points and had 19 rebounds, one shy of his career high. He also hit four 3-pointers, but missed one with 1:54 left that would've tied it at 97.

''It was right in our grasp,'' Marion said. ''It's tough to play with seven guys, but at the same time we let them get way too many second-chance points.''

Dallas won that stat 20-13. A bigger difference came on points in the paint: 52-30, a risk Phoenix takes every night, especially while Stoudamire is out.

''I think we did a great job getting people in post position, taking it to the basket,'' Nowitzki said. ''Teams like that, when they go small, you've got to punish them inside.''

Howard did much of the damage, which was a surprise after he played only 11 minutes the previous game and was still limping on his wobbly ankle. He credited a change in footwear for the spring in his step.

''That's normal Josh - jumping all over the place,'' Nowitzki said.

Daniels was on a roll in the third quarter when Thomas smacked him across the face from behind on a drive to the basket. He stayed in for a few more series, then went to the locker room for the rest of the night. A Dallas native, Thomas was booed loudly when he fouled out with 2:40 left. He had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Dallas was 18-of-32 from the foul line, missing seven times in the fourth quarter. Four straight misses came seconds apart with a little more than 2 minutes left to help the Suns keep it close. Devin Harris missed another in the closing seconds, but a missed shot followed and Terry celebrated with a fist pump as time expired.

PLAYER NOTES:

--Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 29 points and added 13 rebounds against Phoenix, his second straight double-double and his eighth overall this season. In the month of December (eight games), Nowitzki is averaging 10.0 boards.

--Jason Terry had 23 points against the Suns, his second straight game with at least 20. He has scored 20 or more points nine times this season after doing so 10 times last season.

--In his second game back from a sprained ankle, Josh Howard scored 15 points, and added season-high and a career-high 18 rebounds for his fifth double-double this season.

--Adrian Griffin returned to the starting lineup against Phoenix, his sixth start in 10 games since joining the team.

The Mavs have done so all season. Adrian Griffin, signed in a pinch, started five games in Howard's place. Marquis Daniels took over for injured-then-waived Doug Christie, and Devin Harris, Darrell Armstrong and rookie Josh Powell have made spot starts.

The frequent pace of games has left little practice time. The Suns are the fourth team in a stretch of 10 games in 18 days. With fewer practice days, working a recovering player back into the fold has been a challenge. Johnson prefers for players to go through at least a couple of full practices before being cleared to play.

Stackhouse, out all season, called his situation "a true testament to a system that works." The team's third-leading scorer in 2004-05 hasn't played a game this season because of a sore right knee, and though the Mavs miss his offense and grit off the bench, they've stayed afloat.

It's a system Stackhouse finds familiar. Simplifying its origins, Stackhouse traced Johnson's scheme from Gregg Popovich to Larry Brown to Dean Smith. Stackhouse played for the legendary Smith at North Carolina.

--From Avery Johnson's vantage point, the Mavericks aren't quite ready for prime time. Monday's 109-106 loss to the LA Lakers proved as much.

"We can learn a whole lot from these types of games," Avery Johnson said. "We can learn how we have to get stops. You've got to win with your defense. I think we still tend to think that we want to win games with our jump shots."

--The NBA announced that four teams -- Phoenix, San Antonio, Philadelphia and the L.A. Clippers -- will conduct training camps in Europe next year. The Mavs, despite having German Dirk Nowitzki, weren't invited.

Mark Cuban has said overseas training is an undue hardship. The league didn't bother asking the Mavs if they would be interested. "Not me," Cuban said. "They know better."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We haven't achieved the level of status where, when we walk in the gym, people are scared of us. Maybe when that happens, then we can talk about some teams that we should automatically beat." -- Avery Johnson on why the Mavs' intensity level varies from game to game.

Dirk Nowitzki

The Mavs made a run at their all-time poorest shooting performance in last year's 99-84 loss at Orlando, connecting on just 29.4 percent. Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers in the series last year at 20.5 points per game.

Steve Francis and Dwight Howard present the biggest matchup problems for the Mavs. Guarding penetration has been a sore point all season, and Francis' quickness will test Jason Terry and Devin Harris. Howard is a load down low and likely will be guarded by Erick Dampier/DeSagana Diop to save the pounding on Nowitzki.

REPLAY: The Mavericks bounced back from Monday's disappointing loss to the LA Lakers with a satisfying 102-96 victory Wednesday night over the Phoenix at American Airlines Center.

Dirk Nowitzki led five Mavs in double figures with a game-high 29 points and Josh Howard came off the bench with a career-best 18 rebounds, and the Suns were held to a season-low 39.8-percent shooting.

"Our defense was pretty steady and we are fortunate that they shot below 40 percent," Mavs coach Avery Johnson. "We tried to contest as many shots as we could and tried to make it tough on a lot of their scorers."

Against a Phoenix frontline that doesn't start anyone taller than 6-foot-9 Kurt Thomas, the Mavs dominated inside. The Suns were out-scored in the paint 52-30 and out-rebounded 54-44.

Steve Nash scored 20 for Phoenix, but missed 12-of-18 shots from the floor and had only five assists. The Suns suited up only eight players.

Jason Terry added 23 points for the Mavs, Devin Harris had 13 and Erick Dampier pulled down 12 rebounds.

The Mavs have won six of their last seven.