Dallas ? With a big swat of the game’s first shot, the Indiana Pacers showed they were ready to rumble.

But the Dallas Mavericks didn’t bite. They stuck to their style and worked it to perfection.

Michael Finley had 33 points and 13 rebounds in three quarters, and Nick Van Exel had 20 points and 10 assists as the Mavericks ran and shot their way past the Pacers 118-97 Tuesday night in a game between the teams with NBA’s best records.

“They wanted to use their physicality as an intimidation factor, but we withstood that,” Finley said. “We kept our composure and came away with the win.”

Dallas improved to 21-3 and avenged a road loss last month that prevented them from tying the best start in league history.

This victory set a lesser, but still impressive record: Best home start in franchise history, 12-0. Sacramento is the only other team yet to lose at home.

Despite all their accomplishments — which also includes being the highest-scoring team in the league — the Mavs often get knocked for being soft because many of their points come on jumpers instead of power moves near the basket.

Raef LaFrentz opened the game with one of those kind of shots, taking a short jumper when the 7-footer could have tried attacking the rim. Indiana’s Ron Artest responded by running over and smacking the ball into the stands.

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, left, and Raef LaFrentz of Dallas fight for the ball. The Mavericks won Tuesday at Dallas.

But Artest’s aggressiveness got the best of him.

He and Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki were hit with double technicals in the first quarter, then Artest and Raja Bell got technicals for going face-to-face after a whistle with 1:24 left in the first half. Artest was escorted to the locker room by two teammates, then Bell was thrown out for taunting.

Official Luis Grillo explained Bell’s ejection to the Mavericks’ bench by saying, “He didn’t do anything, but he’s gone.”

The East-leading Pacers won the previous meeting 110-98 with their physical play and an offense that sliced through the Mavericks’ zone defense. Three players had at least 20 points last time; Jermaine O’Neal led Indiana this time with exactly 20.

“Things got kind of testy out there,” said Pacers guard Erick Strickland. “We knew they were going to come out and give it to us, and they shot really well.”

Wizards 109, Hawks 99

Atlanta — All Michael Jordan rebounded from one of the worst games of his career with a season-high 30 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 23 as Washington beat Atlanta.

On Sunday, Jordan had only two points in 40 minutes — matching the career low he set last April — but he equaled that 17 seconds into this game with a jumper from the wing. He easily got open shots against the Hawks, spending most of the night working against Glenn Robinson and Ira Newble.

Jordan, making his next-to-last appearance in Atlanta, drew the loudest cheers of the night and received a standing ovation when he walked off with 13.6 seconds left.

Larry Hughes had 20 for the Wizards, who won their second straight.

Robinson scored 33 for the Hawks, who have lost a season-high four in a row. Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

T’wolves 96, Lakers 80

Minneapolis — Kevin Garnett scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota past the sluggish Lakers.

Reserve Marc Jackson scored 13 points and Troy Hudson had 10 assists — one short of his season-high — for the Timberwolves, who have won three straight against the Lakers at Target Center.

Shaquille O’Neal led Los Angeles with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Kobe Bryant had 15 points. Both sat on the bench for the final four minutes.

The Wolves, who led by as many as 22 points, never trailed, and their lead wasn’t seriously threatened after the first quarter. It wasn’t the way the Lakers had hoped to start their four-game road trip.

Knicks 101, Nets 99

New York — New York snapped a six-game losing streak to the Nets, who were both arrogant and dismissive toward the Knicks in recent days while discussing the way fortunes have changed for the two franchises.

Allan Houston scored 29 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 36.6 seconds left. Kurt Thomas added 17, and Othella Harrington and Clarence Weatherspoon each grabbed 13 rebounds.

Jason Kidd scored a season-high 39 for the Nets but missed a potential game-tying 12 footer from the lane with 4 seconds left. Richard Jefferson then missed a tip.

Kings 95, Suns 86

Sacramento, Calif. — Chris Webber had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Sacramento stayed perfect at home, snapping the Suns’ four-game winning streak.

Bobby Jackson had 19 points for the Kings, who never trailed in their 15th victory in 17 games. Sacramento scored 10 straight points to begin the fourth quarter while improving to 13-0 at Arco Arena this season.

Rookie Casey Jacobsen had a career-best 15 points for the Suns, who lost their sixth straight in Sacramento.

The Kings increased their Pacific Division lead over Phoenix and Seattle to six games. The Kings also passed Indiana for the NBA’s second-best record.

Raptors 122, Bucks 117

Milwaukee — Morris Peterson made two free throws with 7 seconds left in overtime as Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Raptors, playing without leading scorer Vince Carter and leading rebounder Antonio Davis, outscored the Bucks 9-2 in the final 67 seconds of overtime.

Ray Allen, who had 37 points, made a three-pointer to pull Milwaukee within 118-117 with 15 seconds left. Alvin Williams was fouled and hit both free throws to extend the Raptors’ lead to 120-117 with 14 seconds left.

After a timeout, Milwaukee got the ball to Tim Thomas on the left baseline, but Toronto’s Jerome Williams knocked the ball away to Peterson, who was fouled and scored the final points.

Voshon Lenard led the Raptors with 23 points, while Peterson had 21.

Trail Blazers 102, Hornets 93

Portland, Ore. — Bonzi Wells scored a season-high 30 points, and Rasheed Wallace had 22 points and 13 rebounds as Portland beat New Orleans. Scottie Pippen had 11 points and eight assists, and Derek Anderson added 15 points for the Blazers.

Jamal Mashburn led the Hornets with 22 points.