NEW YORK – The Mavericks knew it was going to be tough breaking out of their losing streak.

What they didn't realize was that they were coming to one of Jason Kidd's favorite places to win basketball games.

At Madison Square Garden, where Kidd practically has made a career of beating the New York Knicks, the Mavericks fed off of the good vibes and proved that they know how to close out a tight ballgame, scoring the last seven points of regulation and the first eight of overtime for a 124-114 win to snap their five-game losing streak.

It doesn't prove they have shaken the doldrums. But at least it shows they haven't forgotten how to win.

"They got some fight in them," coach Rick Carlisle said. "They really do. It's been a tough stretch, and they kept believing in each other."

The hard-fought victory continued Kidd's run of success in New York, where he has a 24-4 record.

"I enjoy the Garden," he said. "It was a perfect night for us to come here. We needed a win, and I feel comfortable here."

Their longest losing streak since 2000 did not end easily. They trailed most of the game and it took huge nights from Dirk Nowitzki (39 points) and Josh Howard (31) to get the job done. They scored 11 of the Mavericks' 12 points in overtime. More impressively, they held the Knicks to 0-of-9 shooting in the extra period.

"We had to stop the raining at some point," Nowitzki said. "We're happy to get this win and hopefully turn this thing around a little."

Besides Nowitzki and Howard, the Mavericks got a game-tying shot from Jason Terry with 38.9 seconds left in regulation. They had trailed 112-105, but the Knicks were shut down in the last 2:25 of regulation, missing five shots.

"I had the same shot two nights ago to send us into overtime and couldn't get it down," Terry said of his 12-footer in the paint. "I wasn't going to miss this one. I wanted to fly out of here like the Jet and hit the game-winner. But when it missed, I didn't put my head down. I told Dirty [Nowtizki] we needed him."

Nowitzki responded with the first four points of the overtime, which essentially sealed the deal.

Bench comes through: While the starters did plenty of heavy lifting, James Singleton, J.J. Barea and Brandon Bass all had their biggest impacts of the season.

Singleton, who has played sparingly, knew he was going to play against the run-and-gun Knicks. He responded with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Barea hit both of his 3-point tries and had seven points and four assists. Bass played almost exclusively at center and had 12 points and seven rebounds.

"All those guys played big for us," Carlisle said. "It was a massive win for us."

Marbury talk: The Knicks are embroiled in a perplexing standoff with point guard Stephon Marbury, who has not played in the regular season, even though he is not injured.

Clearly, the sides are headed for a divorce. All that's left to decide is how. And where Marbury ends up.

"They're trying to change the culture," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said of the Knicks. "When I got to the Mavs, Nellie [Don Nelson] did the same thing with Robert Pack and some other guys. You're not playing anymore. Go take a vacation. That's one way coaches come in and establish themselves and change the culture."

Cuban is a big Marbury fan, which begs the question of whether the Mavericks would be interested if he is waived or bought out. He can't comment specifically on players but did say that there's a reason why the Mavericks are only carrying 14 players.

"Just in case somebody falls through the cracks," he said.

Clearly, the Mavericks are keeping all options open.

"I want to win," Cuban said of players with questionable pasts. "We have an organization that we've put in place that we think has babysitting skills. That's not a reference to any specific player, but different ages, different maturity levels, different skill sets, you got to put the organization around them that hopefully puts them in a position to succeed. Unless it's going to be a negative, we're willing to take a chance."