The Minnesota Timberwolves came to a shootout with one gun, Al Jefferson. One gun wasn’t enough to win. As was the case in Chicago when Derek Rose tried to single-handedly beat the Mavericks, the short-handed Mavericks were able to leave Minnesota with their 12th straight win.

The Mavericks cannot continue to get into shootouts.

Once again the Mavericks were playing without Brendan Haywood, Erick Dampier, and Jason Terry. To add insult to injury, less than two minutes into the game Dirk Nowitzki picked up his second foul and had to take a seat on the bench for most of the first half.

Through it all, the Mavericks deserve some credit for doing what it takes to win ballgames.

The most interesting part of the winning streak is watching players filling voids. With Dirk on the bench, the rest of the team’s shots not falling, Shawn Marion filled the scoring void scoring a career high 29 points and 14 rebounds.

The Mavericks adapted their style of play to the players on their nine man bench. An up tempo, quick outlets, and drive the lane style of play got the Mavericks their 12th straight game.

J.J. Barea limped off the court a few minutes left in the game after rolling his ankle. With the injury woes the Mavericks are currently going through, it’s tough not to think positive. Early indications though are it’s simply a rolled ankle.

Nowitzki had 24 points in limited minutes due to his foul trouble, and Caron Butler continued to be a contributor with 23 points as the Mavericks beat the Timberwolves 125-112 in front of a half full Target Center.

The schedule makers have done the Mavericks a huge favor. The Mavericks will get some time off in a long stretched out home stand against sub .500 teams.

New Jersey at the AA Center on Wednesday night is the next opponent. Its also Jason Kidd bobble head night.

The Mavericks won with a complete team effort.

Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points to once again lead the team in scoring. Caron Butler and Rob Beaubois both scored 24, and Shawn Marion chipped in with 18 points. Jason Kidd fell 4 points short of a triple double with 15 assists, 11 rebounds.

It has been said that if opportunity doesn’t knock, to build a door. Beaubois has been given an incredible opportunity with Terry being out for an undetermined time, Rod has walked through that door of opportunity.

Beaubois’ scoring has increased the last three games. On Wednesday it was 17 points, last night it was 22 points, and tonight it was 24. Beaubois got the start alongside Kidd, and set the tone from the beginning.

It’s no coincidence that the opponent’s points per game have gone up in Haywood’s absence. Opponents were averaging 94.1 ppg going into last night’s games, with no Haywood in the middle to control the paint, last night and tonight opponents have scored in triple digits.

The Mavericks fought through the adversity and won their 11th straight game, which ties them for the second longest streak in the NBA this season. They will need to win 3 more games for longest win streak this year, and 8 more if they want to set a club record for consecutive wins in a row.

The Mavericks are winning as a team, playing as a team, and growing closer with every game.

Whether you watch them from press row, cheap seats, or from your couch, the Mavericks look good.

Winning 10 straight games in the NBA is nothing to sneeze at, so excuse me if I don’t hand you a tissue. Whether you want to consider it “winning ugly” or “beating bad opponents,” fact is the Mavericks are winning.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost tonight at Charlotte, so excuse me when I say a win is a win, and you should never take a win for granted.

The Mavericks won 108-100 at home against the Sacramento Kings. Yet the storyline is, Mavericks keep winning as the injuries pile up.

It was reported by numerous outlets that Jason Terry will be out a week to a month, depending on who you want to listen to. People within the organization I talked to briefly were a little more non-committal. All depends on how Terry responds to treatment is what I am told.

Without Terry, the Mavericks are losing a key scorer. Jason Terry is a powerful weapon coming off the bench, but Terry also is in the top 5 scorers in the 4th quarter in the whole league.

Stevenson provided some comic relief as he portrayed Terry’s famous jet maneuver after he hit a wide open 3 pointer in the corner.

Pile that on with Brendan Haywood going out with back problems, and the void in the paint was evident after Haywood was unable to return. The Mavericks also lost their head coach Rick Carlisle due to back to back technicals arguing calls.

Dwayne Casey stepped in and commanded the troops in Carlisle’s absence, while DeShawn Stevenson, J.J. Barea, and Rod Beaubois combined to fill Terry’s role.

An alarming observation was that no one was able to fill Haywood’s role.

Beaubois scored a career high 22 points, Dirk paced the club with 31 points, and Jason Kidd had 17 points and 12 assists.

After the game Carlisle said Haywood would be “day to day.” Carlisle said it was more cautious than anything, but he did say that Haywood was in “considerable amount of pain this afternoon, and that it tightened up during the game.”

Caron Butler continues to be the measure of consistency, and does not want to hear about injuries being an excuse. “The measure of a great team is to be able to respond to injuries and not to use them as an excuse. We have guys that need to step up if guys are not able to play.”

The Mavericks won their 10th straight game, and also ensured a 10th straight winning season.

The crew packed up and headed to the airport to head to Chicago. Haywood was walking with some obvious tightness, but did give the thumbs up as he walked away.

With Jason Kidd inactive for the game to simply give the old veteran a rest, the Mavericks found themselves in a dogfight. The Mavericks were tested, but pulled out their ninth straight win.

The Mavericks won, 112-109, and that’s all that counts.

The Timberwolves were playing their second straight game without their star Al Jefferson, who is currently suspended for his DUI arrest. Despite being without Jefferson, the Timberwolves were tough to shake. Corey Brewster led the Wolves with 24 points.

Rod Beaubois was called on to provide a spark, and he lit a fire. “Coach told J.J. and I to be ready to step up not only tonight, but the rest of the way. I wanted to prove I’m able to be counted on.”

With a tight game down the stretch, Beaubois was the guy Carlisle went with. “I went with my gut. It could have easily been J.J. out there, but Roddy’s energy was outstanding.” Beaubois proved Carlisle’s gut feeling was the right choice as Beaubois finished with 17 points, 11 in the first half.

Jason Terry paced the Mavericks with 26 points, followed by Dirk’s 22 and Shawn Marion’s 17. A true team wide effort led to the win.

Dirk summed up the feeling in the locker room after a physical game. “We’re probably one of the deepest teams in the league right now. We love to be play together and hopefully we can continue to improve and be right there in the playoffs.”

The Mavericks stayed a half game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the second position in the playoff race.

Mavericks staying put

Despite being a Maverick favorite, the Mavericks have no intention of signing the recent released Michael Finley. “We like our team right now, and do not want to screw anything up,” Donnie Nelson said.

The beat goes on, yes the beat goes on.

The Mavericks went into Charlotte after a tough game the night before and won. Let’s hide the pictures from this one though, it was ugly.

With Butler, Nowitzki, and Terry all scoring over 20 points, the Mavericks withstood some cold shooting. They also fought through a case of laziness.

The breaths were deep, the hands on the shorts were prevalent, and fast breaks were caught in slow motion. Yet they won, and that’s all that counts when you are in a playoff push like the Mavericks find themselves in.

The Mavericks held the Bobcats to 26% shooting in the second half, as they continued their dominance in the second half. During this eight game winning streak, the Mavericks are outscoring opponents by 8 points.

Brendan Haywood was caught three times being lazy on defense, getting called for illegal defense. Jason Kidd seemed to be wearing his heavy sneakers, yet made some defensive stops down the stretch when it mattered most.

With an off-night for Kidd, Butler and Nowitzki provided just enough offense to win a crucial road game. As the Mavericks beat the Bobcats, who are fighting for their first playoff appearance, 89-84.

Caron Butler and Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks in the third quarter when the Mavericks made their push. Scoring 18 of the 23 Mavericks points in the quarter (Nowitzki, 10, Butler, the Mavericks had and kept the lead all through the 4th quarter.

The Mavericks won their 40th game, their 20th on the road, and 8th straight in a row.

Next game at home against those pesky Timberwolves. Yes, those same Wolves that beat them in Minnesota that had Mavericks fans disgusted.

This is not the same Mavericks team.