Dirk Nowitzki has insisted that the Dallas Mavericks will "keep fighting" to reach the playoffs this season.

The team beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-107 to move back into the playoff places in the Western Conference.

The power forward, who was the team's leading scorer during the win, told reporters: "The win was nice, not so much the last couple of minutes. We started giving the ball away again. [JJ] Redick made some shots to actually give them the lead, which is unbelievable after we just had a 10-point lead. But I'm glad we survived.

"It was a big win for us against a very good team, a team we hadn't beaten yet this year and a team that hasn't lost much on their home floor. We're going to keep fighting. There's six games left and there's plenty of challenges for us down the road.

"We needed every single point of it. The way we give away leads is sometimes mindboggling."

The Mavericks sit seventh in their conference, one win ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns.