Dallas Mavericks guard Monta Ellis (11) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Aron Baynes (16) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, in Dallas. The Mavericks won 99-93. AP
DALLAS — Monta Ellis equaled his season high with 38 points, including 11 during the final four minutes, to spark a late rally as the Dallas Mavericks beat the depleted San Antonio Spurs 99-93 Saturday in Rajon Rondo’s debut with the Mavericks.
Ellis broke a 91-91 tie with a basket from the right corner that sailed over the corner of the backboard to give Dallas the lead for good.
Rondo, the four-time All-Star who played his first eight-plus seasons with the Boston Celtics, finished with six points on 3-for-11 shooting. He had nine assists and seven rebounds. Acquired in a multi-player trade Thursday, he went into the game leading the league averaging 10.8 assists.
Marco Belinelli led San Antonio with 21 points. Aron Baynes added a career-high 16 points.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich dressed 10 players and played only eight after his team played triple-overtime games on Wednesday and Friday. Veterans Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, who logged 90 and 71 minutes, respectively, in those two games, were left home. Danny Green and Tiago Splitter dressed but didn’t play.
SUNS 99, KNICKS 90
Eric Bledsoe had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points, and Phoenix beat New York.
Markieff Morris added 19 points for the Suns, who won their second straight after a six-game skid.
Thomas made a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, giving Phoenix the lead for good and triggering an 8-0 burst. Marcus Morris made another and Alex Lin tipped in a miss for a 75-68 lead, and the Knicks were playing catch-up from there.
Carmelo Anthony had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks after missing a game with a sore left knee, but he was on the bench for a rest when the Suns surged into the lead. New York has lost four straight and is 5-24.
TRAIL BLAZERS 114, PELICANS 88
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Portland over New Orleans.
While Portland (22-6) was coming off a triple overtime win at San Antonio a night earlier, it was New Orleans that appeared tired. Including Anthony Davis’ 3 of 14 shooting, the Pelicans (13-13) made only 35 percent of their shots. Davis finished with seven points and six rebounds.
Portland showed no signs of slowing down from the 15 extra minutes against the Spurs. The Trail Blazers shot 53 percent and forced 17 turnovers.
Blazers point guard Damian Lillard added 17 points and seven assists while one-time New Orleans center Chris Kaman had 16 points and six rebounds in a reserve role.
Austin Rivers led the Pelicans with 21 points.
HORNETS 104, JAZZ 86
Kemba Walker had 20 points, Al Jefferson added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Charlotte beat Utah.
Jefferson nearly registered his third straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds but left the game with six minutes remaining with a mild groin strain and did not return. Jefferson was available to play, but the Hornets had the game in hand and didn’t want to risk further injury.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won back-to-back games for only the third time this season.
The Hornets (8-19) had lost 10 straight games against the Jazz with their last win coming on Nov. 14, 2008.
Gordon Hayward had 14 points to lead Utah (8-20). Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Jazz had its two-game winning streak snapped.
HAWKS 104, ROCKETS 97
Kyle Korver scored 22 points, including seven points late, to help Atlanta Hawks hold on to beat Houston.
The game was tied with three minutes left before Atlanta used a 7-0 run to make it 97-90 with just under a minute to go. Korver hit one of his four 3-pointers during that run.
Atlanta made seven free throws down the stretch, with four from Korver, to secure the victory.
The Hawks led by 16 points, but Houston used a big third quarter to tie it entering the fourth. The teams stayed close throughout the fourth quarter, with the lead changing or the game being tied several times before Atlanta put it away in the final minutes.
Dwight Howard had 19 points and 11 rebounds and James Harden added 18 points with a season-high 14 assists for the Rockets who lost their second straight game.
NUGGETS 76, PACERS 73
Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer to spark a key fourth-quarter run, and Denver hung on to beat Indiana.
Ty Lawson added 15 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who won games on successive nights after losing six of seven coming into the back-to-back set.
David West had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Indiana also dropped its sixth straight game in Denver.
Both teams were held to season lows in scoring with Indiana hitting just 30.7 percent of its shots from the field and Denver making 36.6 percent.
With 27.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, C.J. Miles, who finished with 16 points, made a 3-pointer to even the score at 55-55 heading into the fourth quarter.
CLIPPERS 106, BUCKS 102
Chris Paul scored nine of his 27 points in the final 4:04 and Blake Griffin added 24, leading Los Angeles over Milwaukee.
Griffin, coming off back-to-back 30-point games against Indiana and Denver, picked up his third foul with 5:41 left in the half and the Clippers trailing 42-38. Griffin made a critical tip-in of Paul’s missed 20-footer with 5 seconds to play. Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton missed a desperation 3-pointer as time expired.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 18 points and nine rebounds. Jerryd Bayless and former Clipper Jared Dudley each had 16 points as the Bucks’ bench outscored the Clippers’ bench 59-23.
Trailing by nine with 5:24 left in the third quarter, the Clippers entered the fourth down 83-82 on 3-pointers by Paul, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick during a 3:15 span. Redick finished with 23 points.