CHICAGO _ The Mavericks haven't had much success this season _ except against the Bulls.
After beating them by 25 points last month at home, the Mavericks swept the season series Tuesday night at the United Center with a 99-98 victory.
Wes Matthews' 3-pointer with 11.8 seconds left proved the game-winner. Dwyane Wade missed at the buzzer.
Harrison Barnes led a balanced Mavericks attack with 20 points while Seth Curry added 18, J.J. Barea 12, Matthews and Deron Williams 11 apiece and Dirk Nowitzki 10.
Jimmy Butler paced the Bulls with 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Robin Lopez added 21 points and Wade 17 for the Bulls.
Nikola Mirotic, who missed four games to illness, returned and scored six points in 22 minutes.
But coach Fred Hoiberg announced Tuesday evening that Taj Gibson will sit with left ankle soreness. Hoiberg, who called the move "precautionary," sounded optimistic Gibson would only miss one game.
Gibson had the ankle surgically repaired in June 2015.
As for Mirotic, his lack of conditioning is such that Hoiberg started Paul Zipser for Gibson.
"We'll have to keep a close eye on him," Hoiberg said of Mirotic. "Conditioning is going to the biggest thing after being out of the lineup for a week.
"He got a couple workouts when we were on the road. He came in (Sunday) on our offday, got in some really good work. He came in (Monday) morning and got a workout in as well. The biggest thing is building the strength back up. I think he lost eight pounds with the virus he had. Now it's about getting him back in game shape and getting his timing back."
The Bulls lost by 25 points at Dallas early last month without Wade, who stayed behind in Chicago to rest. That's also the game Rajon Rondo threw a towel at associate head coach Jim Boylen to draw a one-game team suspension.
"I didn't like anything about our performance down there. We were awful," Hoiberg said. "This Dallas team is playing very well right now."
