Now the Jazz must regroup -- again -- after Nowitzki torched them for 29 points in the fourth quarter. As much as they've struggled with team defense this season, the Jazz were powerless to stop the Mavericks' star.

With Carlos Boozer playing with five fouls, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan opted to have Mehmet Okur guard Nowitzki much of the fourth quarter. The Jazz never committed to double-teaming Nowitzki or making an all-out effort to deny him the ball.

"You can deny him all you want, but he's still going to get the ball," Sloan said. "He's just that clever, and when he does, he'll work you and work you until he gets into a position that's what he likes and an advantage for him."

The Jazz will be desperate for a win when they host San Antonio on Thursday as well as to make amends in front of their home fans, who booed the Jazz repeatedly in Monday's loss to Houston and uncharacteristically left en masse late in the fourth quarter.

"We haven't (given) them much reason to cheer yet," Deron Williams said. "We've got to get the best fans in the world up and out of their seats for a little bit and we haven't been able to do that."

MAVERICKS 96, JAZZ 85: Dirk Nowitzki buried the Jazz last January at American Airlines Center, hitting 16 of 20 shots on the way to scoring 39 points. He did it again Tuesday with a 29-point fourth quarter that broke Mark Aguirre's franchise record of 24 points in a quarter. The Jazz were outscored 44-18 in the fourth quarter, with Nowitzki going 7-for-8 from the field and 14-for-14 at the foul line.