By DAN PIERINGER
STATS Editor

Toronto (2-2) at Dallas (3-2), 8:30 p.m. EDT

The Dallas Mavericks know they blew a chance to get their fourth
straight win in their last game. A home matchup with the Toronto
Raptors appears to give them a good opportunity to bounce back.

The Mavericks look to rebound from a disheartening defeat with
their 10th straight home win over the Raptors on Saturday night.

After a season-opening loss to Washington, Dallas (3-2) won
three straight, including a road victory over the defending
champion Los Angeles Lakers and a dramatic comeback win over
Utah.

That streak came to an end Wednesday night, when Dallas blew a
late lead of its own and eventually fell 114-107 in overtime at
New Orleans. The Mavericks had a 97-94 lead and the ball with 10
seconds left but couldn't hold on. They missed four free throws
in the final 14 seconds of regulation and gave up 17 points in
overtime.

"It's a lost opportunity," said reserve guard Jason Terry, who
scored a season-high 35 points but missed two free throws toward
the end of regulation and went 2 for 6 from the field in
overtime.

"The key things we talk about all of the time and the little
things ... free throws, getting out on shooters and fouling when
we are up three. Those things are what championship teams do.
Obviously, we're not there yet. We'll learn from this."

The Mavericks have had no trouble closing out home games against
the Raptors (3-2) lately. Dallas has won nine straight at home
against Toronto by an average of 11.8 points since the Raptors'
109-104 win Dec. 30, 1999. Overall, the Mavericks have won 16 of
19 in the series since that defeat.

Playing its first back-to-back games of the season, Toronto
earned its first road win in the opener Friday night. Chris Bosh
scored 27 points and the Raptors used a 27-4 run in the third
quarter to take control en route to a 107-90 victory over New
Orleans.

Hedo Turkoglu added 16 points with four 3-pointers as the
Raptors went 14 for 29 (48.3 percent) from behind the arc.

"We are feeling more comfortable with each other each game,"
said Turkoglu, in his first year with Toronto after helping
Orlando reach the NBA finals last season. "We know where
everybody wants to get the ball."

In addition to their developing chemistry on offense, the
Raptors feel their defense was key to beating the Hornets. They
gave up a season-low 90 points, including only 14 in the third
quarter.

"It really started on defense," Turkoglu said. "We got stops and
rebounds. We've been great offensively since they built the
team, but we were helping each other on defense tonight."

The Toronto defense could have its hands full with Dirk Nowitzki
on Saturday. Nowitzki, held to a season-low 12 points and
4-for-15 shooting in Wednesday's loss, recorded a double-double
as Dallas won both meetings with Toronto last season.

Not including a game he left in the first quarter because of
blurred vision, Nowitzki has averaged 28.1 points and 10.0
rebounds while shooting 50.3 percent from the field in his last
eight contests against the Raptors.

Bosh, who starred at Lincoln High School in Dallas, is still
looking for his first win in his hometown. He's averaged 22.2
points and 10.3 rebounds in six career games in Dallas.