DALLAS -- Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson struggled in two losses to the Dallas Mavericks last season.

He reversed that trend Thursday.

Jefferson scored a season-high 31 points, and the Hornets snapped a long losing skid in Dallas by blowing past the Mavericks 108-94 at American Airlines Center.

The Hornets (2-3) lost their previous 14 games in Big D, a stretch going back to 1998 and the Mavs' previous home of Reunion Arena.

Jefferson dominated the paint and bullied the Mavericks in his first breakout game of the season. The burly veteran connected on 15 of 18 shots from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds.

Jefferson had just 14 points against Dallas last season.

Charlotte power forward Marvin Williams racked up his third double-double in five games with 17 points and 12 boards.

Hornets point guard Kemba Walker scored 14 points and dished out seven assists. Shooting guard Jeremy Lamb had 16 points off the bench.

The Hornets finished with a 58-36 edge on points in the paint, and they outrebounded Dallas 48-44.

"That's what we're going to have to have in order to beat the best teams. You have to have balance," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "Al, obviously tonight, was terrific."

Dallas (2-3) has yet to win in its building this season, dropping its second straight on a three-game homestand that ends Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Mavericks went ice cold in the second half. After trailing by just a point going into the third quarter, Dallas was down 24 early in the fourth quarter.

Dallas was blown out in the second half in both of its home losses. The Toronto Raptors finished Tuesday's game with a 20-5 run.

"Two nights in a row we've really been beaten up by physical teams," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We'll look at adjustments for that. No excuses. Every game in this league this year is going to be like this."

Point guard Deron Williams led five Mavs in double figures with a season-high 15 points. Power forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 on 4-of-12 shooting. Center Zaza Pachulia posted his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons, on a time restriction, didn't enter the game until the start of the third quarter in an effort to better use his minutes.

Dallas, though, couldn't buy a bucket with or without Parsons on the floor. The Mavericks shot just 22.7 percent (5-for-22) in the third.

The use of Parsons didn't impact the game's outcome, Carlisle said.

"You can't blame the loss on that," he said. "That's not what this was about. We've got to play better. We've played poorly two consecutive games, and that's not good. I've got to look at this objectively and see where we need to get better."

The Hornets took advantage of the Dallas' offensive woes to pull away. Jefferson made all six of his shots -- most from very close range -- to score 12 points in the third.

"The energy was great," Walker said. "We performed great on both sides of the floor tonight. We came out with great intensity. We came out and made some mistakes early on in the game, but we adjusted well."

Charlotte took a 54-53 lead into halftime behind Jefferson's 13 points, 11 coming in the first quarter. The Hornets were up despite making only two of 15 3-pointers in the half.

Reserve forward Dwight Powell scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half for the Mavs, who were shooting 50 percent at the break.

Charlotte's losing streak in Dallas was the league's second longest to one team. Golden State has dropped its last 32 trips to San Antonio.

The Hornets head south to face the Spurs on the road Saturday night.

NOTES: Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle signed a five-year contract extension worth approximately $35 million, according to reports. Carlisle, the franchise leader in wins, is in his eighth season with Dallas, and he has a 340-223 record with the Mavs. "Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Dirk Nowitzki are the reason an extension like this is possible," Carlisle said. "I have the best owner and general manager in sports, and one of the greatest players in NBA history to thank for this opportunity." ... Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki became the 16th player in league history to log 45,000 career regular-season minutes. ... The Hornets entered the game tied with Golden State for the NBA lead in 3-pointers made per game (11.5). Charlotte made six. ... Carlisle said after the game that injured C JaVale McGee (left tibial stress fracture) likely won't play in November.