Hardaway made just 5-of-14 shots but typified the Mavericks' offense by nailing 4-of-8 3-pointers. Dallas made 10-of-23 shots from behind the arc, including 3-of-6 by Wang Zhizhi, who finished with a season-high nine points.
"It was a team effort," Hardaway said. "We went out there and played hard. We just wanted to get this win before the Christmas break. They've got injuries and it's kind of tough on them right now. We've got a job to do -- just win."
Michael Finley scored 16 points, Steve Nash added 15 and Eduardo Najera had 10 and 10 rebounds off the bench for his first double-double of the season.
 Tim Hardaway enjoyed his best game as a Maverick on Saturday night. Glenn James NBAE/Getty Images |
The Mavericks started the second quarter with a 16-7 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers by Zhizhi. Hardaway scored five points during the burst and nailed a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 40-29 lead with 7:27 to go.
"Tim hit some big shots," Finley said. "At one point, it seemed like we couldn't get anything to go into the bucket. And Tim stepped up and made big shots. That's what he has been doing for us as of late."
The Mavs had a 44-35 advantage just over three minutes later before reeling off 10 of the next 12 points. Juwan Howard started the run and Nash capped it with a pair of free throws to give Dallas a 54-37 cushion at 1:37.
The Mavericks held a 58-41 halftime advantage and the Magic got no closer than 12 thereafter.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 points in just 19 minutes and Howard finished with 10 for Dallas, which has won its last five home games and has reeled off six straight victories overall for the first time since March 7-17.
"It's a good feeling," Finley said. "We've taken our lumps earlier in the season. We've come into a pretty decent comfort zone as far as winning. We'll have to just continue to do what we've been doing to win these ballgames."
Orlando, which lost Grant Hill for the season last week, played its second straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Tracy McGrady, who is sidelined with back spasms.
The Magic also placed rookie forward Steven Hunter on the injured list before the game. Swingman Mike Miller did not play in the second half of Thursday's loss to Washington due to a bruised back but returned and scored 20 points.
"My back is a little sore, but that's part of the game," Miller said. "You've got to keep playing. I've got to try to get healthy before the next game. It doesn't matter who's out there on the court, we've got to come out there and see if we can get some wins."
"He actually played very well to be banged up," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "Darrell (Armstrong) was really struggling tonight. In retrospect, sometimes you think you shouldn't have even played them, especially Darrell, because he's so banged up."
Armstrong scored just six points on 2-of-11 shooting, but Patrick Ewing stepped up with 16 points and Monty Williams added eight and seven rebounds for the Magic, who have lost seven of their last nine games.
Orlando shot just 33 percent (29-of-87) from the floor, including 4-of-22 from 3-point range.