Mavericks 96, Trail Blazers 91: Chris Kaman scored a season-best 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Shawn Marion added 20 points as visiting Dallas downed Portland.

Vince Carter scored 14 points and Brandan Wright had 12 points and nine rebounds as the Mavericks led wire-to-wire to keep their sagging playoff hopes alive. Dallas trails eighth-place Utah by 2 1/2 games and the Los Angeles Lakers by two games in the battle for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Rookie Will Barton recorded season-highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points for the Trail Blazers, who have lost a season-worst eight straight games.

Dallas scored the first nine points and never let up the entire first half. The Mavericks’ lead reached 44-22 on Marion’s basket with 6:28 left in the half en route to a 56-32 lead at the break.

The lead was 20 points entering the final stanza and Portland later got back into the game with a 19-2 burst to pull within 88-83 with 3:30 left. The Trail Blazers moved to three down on two free throws by Barton with 39.4 seconds left before Dallas sealed the game on Marion’s basket with three-tenths of a second remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Mavericks had a 62-46 edge in points in the paint. … Trail Blazers F Nicolas Batum (shoulder) missed his third straight game. … Dallas F Elton Brand (calf) was held out for the third consecutive contest.