Jason Terry scored only 14 points, but his three-pointer with 7.6 seconds left was the dagger that prevented a Utah comeback, as Dallas won its 12th straight game, a 103-97 victory over the Jazz.

Dirk Nowitzki posted 31 points and 15 rebounds on 10-of-12 shooting for the Mavericks, who nearly wasted a 25-point lead before improving to 19-4, the second best-record in the NBA.

Mavs Moneyball watched Dallas perform their fourth quarter meltdown and almost squander a double-digit lead:

Somewhere in the fourth quarter (I swear it wasn't my fault...) they started slacking on defense, and fouling on made shots and giving the Jazz chance after chance to close the gap. They got close, and then they tied. Thankfully, they couldn't quite pull ahead. But the Jazz have been doing that all year- they've had 8 double-digit comebacks so far this season. 

Then, right around the 4 minute mark in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks remembered they were playing a basketball game, and Jason Terry in particular started making shots to keep Dallas up until the last moment. His last shot, an unbelievable three-pointer with 7.6 seconds to play, stuck a dagger in the heart of the Jazz. Dirk Nowitzki hit some clutch free throws (thank goodness) and the Mavs made some key stops on the defensive end to close out the game with their 12th win in a row.

Deron Williams provided a season-high 34 points for the Jazz, who had their six-game road win streak snapped. Paul Millsap scored 16 points, while Ronnie Price had 14 in defeat.