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Final Score: Chicago 94 - Dallas 102

Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks led from wire-to-wire to top the Chicago Bulls, 102-94, at American Airlines Center.

Jason Kidd posted 11 points, nine boards and eight assists for the Mavericks in his first home game since being acquired from New Jersey last Tuesday. Jerry Stackhouse scored 23 points for Dallas, which ran its winning streak to three.

"I was so excited to have this opportunity and this second chance to come back and play for the franchise," Kidd said. "I just wanted to make a good impression at home since we've been away for a while. So I was just happy to get back here and to get that first shot under my belt."

Erick Dampier recorded season highs with 16 rebounds and seven blocks, while Josh Howard chipped in 16 points and Jason Terry scored 11 in the winning effort.

"The funny thing is that now you're seeing everybody passing it," Kidd said. "Everybody is touching the ball. The game becomes fun. We had a couple turnovers there but we'll clean that up and make sure that everybody is touching the ball."

Ben Gordon scored 25 points for the Bulls, losers of two straight and three of four overall. Drew Gooden added 17 points and eight boards, while Larry Hughes scored 14.

Thabo Sefolosha and Luol Deng added 10 points apiece for Chicago, which has lost 10 of its last 11 in Dallas.

Trailing by as many as 17 in the early going, the Bulls slowly came back and trailed by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Gooden's turnaround jumper pulled the Bulls within 78-74 just 2:23 into the fourth, but the Mavs got consecutive baskets from Howard, Terry and Kidd to push the lead back to 10 and force a Chicago timeout with 7:06 to play.

Nowitzki buried a three to give Dallas an 89-77 lead with 5:05 to go, but the Bulls again reeled in the deficit, pulling to within six when Gooden tipped Gordon's miss for a 91-85 game with 3:52 left.

Trailing by seven, Hughes drained a jumper to make it a 93-88 game with 2:38 to play, but Nowitzki drained a pair of free throws and Kidd drove to the basket for a layup to extend the lead to 97-88 with 1:42 on the clock.

"We fought, we fought, we competed," Gooden said. "It was just that they knocked down open shots. They had a lot of energy tonight, Jason Kidds first game at home, the crowed was into it, they shot nine for fourteen from the three point line and its tough to beat a team when they're doing that at home."

Gooden threw down a two-handed slam to cut the lead to seven with 1:14 to play, but Stackhouse nailed a three from the top of the key to give the Mavs a 100-90 lead with 27.3 ticks to go and seal the win.

"We've got a lot new pieces," Stackhouse said. "Its almost like training camp or the early part of the season. We've just got to figure out, with the new guys, what we've got. We're still learning each other. With our main core, we know what we're going to get when it gets down to crunch time. We've just got to keep battling and we'll be fine."

Early, it didn't look like the Bulls would put up much of a fight. The Mavs seized the lead straight out of the blocks and used a 17-2 first-quarter run to take a 22-6 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left in the opening stanza, and finish the frame with a 29-14 lead.

The Bulls got as close as five in the second quarter, but the Mavs pulled away and Stackhouse drained a three at the buzzer to send Dallas to halftime leading 53-43.

The comeback continued early in the second half, as the Bulls closed to within 57-55 on Deng's layup just before the halfway point of the third quarter. Dallas responded with a 15-4 run to push the lead back to 13 on a Nowitzki three inside the two-minute mark, and the Mavs led 76-66 heading into the fourth quarter.