JOSH HOWARD got 12 of his 25 in the fourth quarter and Jason Kidd scored 27 points as the Dallas Mavericks held off the Clippers 93-86 in Los Angeles on Monday night to complete a sweep of the four-game season series.

The Mavericks are seventh in the Western Conference standings, five games behind front-running San Antonio and New Orleans with eight games remaining — including the regular-season finale against the Hornets in Dallas. Just six games separate the first nine teams in the West, and one of them is going to miss the playoffs.

Jason Terry had 20 points for Dallas, playing its fourth game since reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki went down with knee and ankle injuries. Howard, who scored 30 or more points in the Mavericks’ first three games without their leading scorer, was just 4-for-15 from the field over the first three quarters and 8-for-20 overall.

Forward Jerry Stackhouse, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Mavs a 95-94 win over the Clippers the last time they played them at Staples Center on Jan. 12, missed his second game with a strained right groin.

Rookie Al Thornton scored 26 points for the Clippers, who trailed throughout. They shot 36.8 percent and committed 23 turnovers against a Dallas defense that came in forcing a league-low 12.3 turnovers per game. Leading scorer Corey Maggette scored 23 points and was just 3-for-15 from the field.

Los Angeles lost for the 19th time in 22 tries after ending a season-worst 10-game losing streak Saturday night against Memphis.

(SD-Agencies)