Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points as he led the Dallas Mavericks to a 122-94 preseason victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. His team mates didn’t let him do all the scoring and Josh Howard also had the “hot hands” as he added 20 points.  

Nowitzki, a Würzburg, Germany native, went 10-of-14 from the field goal and managed to get eight rebounds as well as he made his presence felt in the paint at both ends of the court.

Before the exhibition game, Howard had found out that he will miss the first two games of the season as the NBA suspended him for being involved in a brawl with Sacramento's Brad Miller on Tuesday night. He eventually had a good game and went 8-of-15 from the field.

The other scorers for the Mavericks were Brandon Bass, who recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds, speedy guard Devin Harris, who finished with 17 points and Maurice Ager added 14 points for the Mavs. Dallas won all their three preseason games and last night were leading 93-63 after three quarters.

The Pistons had their main scorer in Flip Murray. He amounted 22 points and Rodney Stuckey added 15 for Detroit.

Dallas took the early lead as its shooters were 6-of-11 from the field to take a 30-21 lead after the first quarter. The Pistons, on the other hand, missed all their first six shots.

The Mavs didn’t slow down in the second quarter and behind Nowitzki’s 16 points and Harris’s 14, they ended the first half with a 63-46 lead that proved to be decisive.

The Howard-Miller brawl happened in the second quarter of the Mavs' 101-99 preseason win over the Kings on Tuesday. Miller had shoved Devin Harris without provocation, and then Howard ran towards Miller, struck him in the back with his forearm and then pushed him in the back. The scene escalated as other payers got involved.

“I had to what I had to do to protect my teammate,” Howard said for the Mavericks’ website. “I’ve been with this organization a long enough to know happens. It’s crazy [Miller] didn’t get any suspension or any fine.”

Howard will begin serving his suspension in the first game of the seasons against the Cleveland Cavaliers.