DALLAS - Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry was named the winner of the National Basketball Association's sixth man award on Friday for being the league's top reserve player.

Terry, who is having one of his best seasons in the league, has started just 11 of Dallas' 74 games. He averaged 19.6 points and 3.4 assists while playing about 34 minutes a game in the regular season.

The only time Terry had a higher scoring average was 2000-01 when he averaged 19.7 points for Atlanta.

After starting only 27 games as a rookie, Terry started 531 of his 563 games for the Hawks and Mavericks from 2000-07.

Terry averaged 15.5 points for Dallas last season, when he started 34 times but was the only Mavericks player to get into every game.

"The ability to do it, but also the willingness to embrace it, is something that's got to be a part of it," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said of Terry's effectiveness off the bench. "That's who he is. He wants to win and he wants to part of something that's bigger than himself, and that's really what this is all about."

Terry got 111 of 121 first-place votes in the balloting and was the clear winner with 576 points.

"No doubt, I'm a guy playing with my energy," Terry said. "Instant offence, there are no warmup shots. ... Jumping into the fire, that's a special skill set."

Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki said Terry's contribution was key.

"He's been a big part of this team," said Nowitzki, the NBA's Most Valuable Player two seasons ago. "He's a great guy in the locker room, he's one of our emotional leaders, always firing up the crowd. He's one of the best clutch players I've ever seen."