Spurs lose at home, Nowitzki outplays Howard

The Suns got some measure of revenge for last season's playoff exit as they handed the Spurs its first home loss with a 100-95 victory. Grant Hill led the Suns with 22 points, while Steve Nash had 10 points and 10 assists. The Spurs were stilling missing Tony Parker, but got a big night from Tim Duncan who had season-highs in points and rebounds with 36 and 17. Dirk Nowitzki showed Howard what the reigning MVP can do, scoring 11 of his 31 points in the final period along with getting 11 boards to guide the Mavericks over the Magic 111-108. Howard was unstoppable in the first quarter with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, but the Mavericks stepped up their D and forced Howard to go 3-for-8 the rest of the game.