DALLAS, March 23 (Ticker) -- After a difficult week battling two of the league's heavyweights, a meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies was just what the Dallas Mavericks needed.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half and Wang Zhizhi added a career-high 18 as the Mavericks cruised to a 111-100 victory over the Grizzlies.

The Mavericks had lost two of their previous three games, splitting a pair with the Los Angeles Lakers and losing at San Antonio to fall into a first-place tie with the Spurs in the Midwest Division.

"I think we had a good workout yesterday and we regrouped and we can't lose many more games," Nowitzki said. "We can't afford it if we want to win the Midwest Division. Every loss from now on is crucial."

NBA TV highlights from Grizzlies-Mavericks: 56k | 300k The Grizzlies couldn't take cover against Dirk and the Mavs' attack. Glenn James NBAE/Getty Images

Dallas had no problems against the Grizzlies, sweeping the four-game season series and improving to 23-4 all-time against the Vancouver-Memphis franchise.

"The high intensity was high tonight," Dallas coach Don Nelson said. "We need to get to that level consistently as we prepare to go to the playoffs."

The Mavericks play six of their next seven games away from home and begin a four-game road trip Tuesday in Milwaukee.

"It's going to be a very important road trip for," said Dallas guard Steve Nash, who contributed 13 points. "You know we are going to go out there and try to win all four."

The Grizzlies made a brief run in the third quarter, cutting a 17-point halftime deficit to nine, but Memphis' cause was not helped when point guard Jason Williams was ejected with 4:01 left in the period after picking up his second technical foul.

The 7-1 Zhizhi, who is not known for his outside shooting, burned the Grizzlies by making all four of his shots from beyond the arc and finished 7-of-9 from the field.

"I need to improve my rebounding but my shooting was good," Zhizhi said.

"It's not his offense, it's his defense that's going to take a bit longer to develop," Nelson added. "We've said all along that we like him as a player. The more games he gets like this, the better it will be for him."

Zhizhi hit his third 3-pointer to push Dallas' advantage to 86-69 with 3:02 remaining in the third, then made another with 10 seconds left to give Dallas its biggest lead, 94-71.

Zhizhi's shooting delighted his teammates and his fourth 3-pointer elicited laughter on the bench from Nowitzki, who did not play in the fourth quarter.

"Wang, in the second half, got in there and played real loose and that was good to see," Nash said.

The Grizzlies offered little resistance for the Mavericks, who shot 56 percent (43-of-77) from the field. They were over 60 percent entering the final period.

"You always want to right the ship as soon as you can after you get beat," said Dallas center Raef LaFrentz, who only scored four points. "Tonight, we came out and did our job." Pau Gasol scored 23 points for Memphis, which suffered its sixth straight setback.

"They're good," Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said. "That's a tough team to match up with. They have so many weapons. People can shoot the basketball. It is different coverage for big men."

The Mavericks placed five players in double figures. Michael Finley also scored 13 points and Adrian Griffin added 10.

Stromile Swift added 20 for the Grizzlies, who shot just under 43 percent (36-of-84) from the field and never led in the contest.