DALLAS, Jan 5 — Terry Rozier scored 29 points and Devonte’ Graham added 27 as the visiting Charlotte Hornets opened a 20-point first-half lead and still had to rally for a 123-120 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks last night.

PJ Washington added 19 points as the Hornets came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win consecutive road games following a six-game losing streak.

The Hornets tied the score 103-103 with 19 seconds remaining in regulation on a layup by Rozier, who scored seven points in the extra period for the victory.

Luka Doncic scored 39 points and Maxi Kleber added a career-high 24 as the Mavericks lost for the third time in their last four games.

Doncic added 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his team-record 10th triple-double of the season. The Mavericks are now 1-1 at the start of their season-long six-game homestand.

The Hornets’ Miles Bridges hit two free throws with 20.7 seconds remaining in overtime for a 119-116 lead before Doncic made a layup with 11.3 seconds left to pull the Mavericks within a point. Rozier then hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds to push the lead to 121-118.

Seth Curry hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 121-120 before Graham made two from the foul line for the game’s final margin. Doncic’s desperation 3-pointer from half court was off the mark.

Charlotte led 51-31 with 4:10 remaining in the first half before the Mavericks started to assert themselves on offence. Dallas trailed 57-44 at halftime before taking a 75-72 lead with 3:35 remaining in the third on a Kleber 3-pointer.

Bridges and Bismack Biyombo scored 11 each for the Hornets. Biyombo had 13 rebounds, while Bridges had 11.

Dorian Finney-Smith had 15 points for the Mavericks while Curry had 12. JJ Barea had 11 points and a season-high nine assists for Dallas.

It was the third consecutive game that the Mavericks played without Kristaps Porzingis (knee) and Tim Hardaway Jr (hamstring). — Reuters