Josh Howard’s onslaught began right after the opening tip and never really ended. Dirk Nowitzki got in on it, too. The Dallas Mavericks struck early, then sweated it out at the end, hanging on for a 103-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. Howard matched a season-high with 27 points and Nowitzki added 25 for Dallas, which nearly blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.