"It's no coincidence that the spark returned to Dirk Nowitzki's game about the same time Peja Stojakovic cranked up his.

"We got a Peja sighting," Nowitzki said after the Mavericks ran up a huge lead, then hung on for a 106-102 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. "He arrived in Dallas, so that was fun to see."

After some shaky shooting in his first three games, Stojakovic pumped in a season-high 22 points and hit four of his six 3-pointers. The Rockets defense had no choice but to adjust and that cleared the way for Nowitzki to match Stojakovic's 22 points. The Mavericks had a sizzling night from the field and played solidly on the defensive end to open up a 23-point lead in the third quarter.

The play of Stojakovic gave the Mavericks a different look.

"This was the hope," said coach Rick Carlisle, "That at some point he'd catch his rhythm and get some traction. It came at a great time."

The threat of Stojakovic's shooting also set up a flurry of lob passes that ended up in massive dunks, which served to stoke the Mavericks and deflate the Rockets.

"It's getting better," Stojakovic said. "With those guys on the floor, they draw so much attention, I'm getting great shots."

The Mavericks polished off a 2-1 road trip with a thorough manhandling of the Rockets early. They then fought for their lives late."