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 [...]

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 [...]

The Mavericks seemed to be a finely tuned engine purring their way to a seventh straight win, but things aren’t always what they seem.
With a twenty plus halftime lead that crept up to a twenty five point lead in the third quarter, ended up being a close game down the stretch.
The third quarter was once the power quarter for the Mavericks, yet the last two games they have been outscored by more then ten points each game. It seemed as though the intensity was taken away, and the New Orleans Hornets took advantage of that.
Led by Dirk Nowitzki’s 36 points, [...]

The Mavericks came out on fire, yet got stale and stiff the rest of the way. The momentum of beating the Lakers never boarded the flight to Atlanta.
The young Hawks team ran, shot, and hustled their way in the second, third, and half of the fourth quarters, after the Mavericks ran all over them in the first quarter.
During the win streak, the third quarter is where the Mavericks pulled away. Outscoring their opponents in the third quarter during the win streak, the Mavericks were outscored by 11 in the third quarter.
All signs pointed towards a blow-out win for the Hawks.
Playing [...]

Caron Butler admitted last year that he had kicked his Mountain Dew habit. Butler slimmed down more than 15 pounds he told me simply by not drinking his normal 7-10 12-ounce bottles of Mountain Dew a day.
Now comes word that the NBA has outlawed Butler from chewing straws during games.
What seems like an easy couple of habits to kick in the grand scheme of things isn’t what it seems.
Caron told me that kicking the “Dew habit” was like kicking alcohol or drugs. He would wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, and shaking. He would have [...]

Like finding a $20 bill in your jeans, the Mavericks got a pleasant gift with the play of DeShawn Stevenson. For Mavericks fans, it seems the trade returns just keeps getting better and better.
With Caron Butler out with a reaction to medications he took, and Erick Dampier still in street clothes, the Mavericks were playing shorthanded.
They were able to rise to the occasion.
The AA Center came alive in the fourth quarter and made the game feel like a playoff-style atmosphere.
The marquee read Dirk vs Kobe.
Feeding off the crowd, Dirk Nowitzki provided a great show for the home crowd. The [...]

ESPN, Jaz-Z, Beyonce, Los Angeles, must be a big night of basketball in Dallas. A big night gets a halftime blog post.
With Caron Butler sitting out with what I’m told is a “terrible reaction” to some medication, the Mavericks are playing shorthanded.
I’ve hinted at it, and tonight I am convinced of it. A big key for the Dallas Mavericks will be the backup point guard position. Both Rod Beaubois and J.J. Barea got minutes in the first half, giving Jason Kidd some rest.
On a night when Kobe Bryant doesn’t score until 3:30 left in the half, the Mavericks were unable [...]

Josh Howard’s bad couple of weeks just got worse. Recently acquired Washington Wizards forward Josh Howard will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Howard was injured Monday night in Washington’s win over the Chicago Bulls, only his fourth game with the Wizards since being acquired from Dallas in a seven-player trade on Feb. 13.
No decision has been announced on whether Howard would have surgery.
Howard was plagued by criticism off the court while a Dallas Maverick, and was looking forward to starting over in Washington. Accused of missing a game due to [...]

There are nights when things just seem dull and blah. Monday night was one of those nights.
The Mavericks beat the Indiana Pacers handedly 91-82.
The Mavericks were able to provide their starters with a half night’s workload. Jason Kidd was able to get some well deserved rest, as Rod Beaubois was able to get some experience. Monday night also was a night that the Dallas crowd was able to see DeShawn Stevenson play quality minutes.
Both looked good.
Brendan Haywood was outstanding, grabbing a career high 20 boards in really only two quarters of play. Who would have guessed that Haywood [...]

With the American Airlines Center almost half full, Mavericks officials might consider a special ticket price for the second half of the game.
The second half tickets might just sell out.
The intensity, the excitement, the hustle, the defense, the rhythm, and the physicality increase in the second half of recent Maverick games.
It is an exciting time to watch the Mavericks, yet judging by the attendance, the jury is still out on this team.
Let’s not start designing rings.
The Heat played without their star Dwayne Wade, yet managed to stay with the Mavericks all game long. They came in with the league’s [...]