DALLAS  - Josh Howard scored 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 24 to spark the Dallas Mavericks past San Antonio 107-102 on Wednesday, the winners answering a challenge from unhappy owner Mark Cuban.

Jason Kidd sank a 3-pointer from the left corner with 31 seconds remaining, scoring the last of his 17 points to give the Mavericks a 105-100 lead.

Frenchman Tony Parker, who scored a game-high 37 points for the Spurs, missed a 3-point try on San Antonio's next possession and even though he answered two Dallas free throws with a late layup, it was too little too late.

The Mavericks, who made 37-of-69 shots including 9-of-19 from 3-point range, won for the fourth time in five National Basketball Association games. But that one loss aroused the ire of Cuban.

Unhappy at a humbling loss Monday to doormat Oklahoma City, Cuban said no one on the team was untouchable and ripped his team for lackluster effort.

"I wasn't happy with our preparation, execution or effort. Not only did it look like we had no idea what we were doing, but we did it without effort," Cuban said.

"The effort and energy, on both sides of the ball, by each player will decide their future with the Mavericks. If each player can't take the personal initiative to make every game important and play like it, I don't see them being here next season."

Tim Duncan added 19 points and 12 rebounds and Roger Mason had 23 points for the Spurs, who slid to 40-20 but remained the second-best team in the Western Conference behind the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks improved to 37-24 to stretch their edge on Phoenix for the eighth and final West playoff berth to three games.