Dallas ? While the Dallas Mavericks were winning, Nick Van Exel was waiting. Impatiently.

Van Exel was recovering from knee surgery while his teammates were challenging for the best start in NBA history. He made it back one game after the streak ended at 14, and promptly helped Dallas return to its winning ways in a 103-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

Having worked on his shot and kept up his conditioning during a nine-game absence, Van Exel contributed 17 points and seven assists in 29 pain-free minutes. It was a lot better than the cheerleading he had been doing, especially when the team was on the road.

“It’s definitely good to be back out with the fellows,” he said. “It was tough yelling at the TV.”

Also back was Raef LaFrentz, who’d been down since the second game because of an ankle injury. He had five points and one rebound in 15 minutes.

“It felt like it was going to be when you’re off a month,” LaFrentz said.

Several of the Mavericks described this game as tough, although it hardly showed.

Playing for the first time since their 14-0 start was stopped in Indiana, Dallas never trailed and used an 11-0 run to remain in control after Chicago got within five late in the third quarter.

The Mavs improved to 8-0 at home and gave Don Nelson his 200th victory as their coach.

The Bulls, who practiced on Thanksgiving after a bad game in Boston the night before, switched starting lineups for the first time this season, going with Eddie Robinson and Donyell Marshall instead of Eddy Curry and Trenton Hassell. It made little difference as Chicago lost its sixth in a row and 10th straight on the road.

“It was an ugly game, but it’s big to recover from our first loss of the season,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Chicago's Marcus Fizer (21) looks to pass as Dallas' Raef LaFrentz defends. LaFrentz, a former Kansas University standout, had five points in 15 minutes in the Mavericks' 103-90 victory over the Bulls on Saturady in Dallas. It was LaFrentz' first game since suffering an ankle injury in the second game of the season.

Van Exel played the first six games this season with a piece of bone floating in his right knee that at times locked up his leg. He decided to have arthroscopic surgery in early November rather than let it linger. He said once doctors removed the problem, they also repaired a tear behind it.

“It’s not a new knee, but it feels better,” he said. “It’s like night and day.”

He announced his return by hitting three 3-pointers in the second quarter and making two nice layups during the big run that sealed the victory. He capped his game by swishing a jump hook in the lane between several defenders.

Knicks 92, Hornets 86, OT

New York – Allan Houston recovered from a scoreless second half to hit a clinching jumper with 13 seconds left, and the Knicks beat New Orleans in the third overtime game of the season between the teams. Houston scored 16 points in the first half, none in the second half and four in the extra period for New York.

76ers 95, Wizards 94

Washington – Michael Jordan made his first start of the season but couldn’t come up with one last clutch play. Jordan had an offensive rebound, an assist and a blocked shot in the final minute, but his pass to Bryon Russell with 5 seconds left was stolen, depriving the Wizards of a chance at a game-winning shot.

Magic 117, Hawks 92

Orlando – Tracy McGrady scored all 28 of his points in the first three quarters and Mike Miller added 22 as the Magic won their third in a row. Atlanta, which trailed by 19 at halftime and 33 and the end of the third quarter, was led by reserve Dion Glover with 18 points.

Heat 85, Cavaliers 79

Miami – Rookie Caron Butler scored six of his team-high 16 points in the final two minutes as Miami held on to hand the Cavaliers their 14th consecutive loss . After the Cavaliers cut a 10-point deficit to 79-74 on two free throws by Milt Palacio and a 3-pointer by Dajuan Wagner, Butler secured Miami’s victory with a baseline jumper with 1:08 remaining and a slam dunk off a missed 3-pointer by LaPhonso Ellis with 45 seconds left.

Nets 93, Trail Blazers 86

Portland, Ore. – Jason Kidd scored 28 points and added eight assists as New Jersey withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat Portland. The defending Eastern Conference champion Nets had dropped their six previous games in Portland, last winning 99-98 back on Jan. 30, 1995.

Bucks 109, Pistons 86

Milwaukee – Sam Cassell scored 24 points and Tim Thomas added 21 as Milwaukee beat Detroit in the second game of a back-to-back set between the teams. The win evened Milwaukee’s record at 8-8 and avenged a 96-91 loss Friday at Detroit. Michael Redd added 20 points for the Bucks, while Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 15 points and Cliff Robinson added 14.

Spurs 107, Jazz 85

San Antonio – Stephen Jackson scored 17 points and the San Antonio Spurs held Karl Malone to 1-for-16 shooting, snapping Utah’s six-game winning streak. The loss was Utah’s 10th straight to the Spurs. San Antonio broke open what had been a back-and-forth game by making 10 of 15 shots in the third period, with Steve Smith scoring 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting.

Warriors 100, Suns 90

Oakland, Calif. – Antawn Jamison matched his season-high with 37 points as Golden State won consecutive games for the first time this season. Gilbert Arenas had 16 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals as the Warriors overcame 25 turnovers, a late rally by the Suns and another big game by Stephon Marbury to snap their five-game losing streak against Phoenix.