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DALLAS – There’s no nice way to put it: The Mavericks have been miserable against the West’s best.

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DeAndre Jordan of the L.A. Clippers joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to talk about the Mavericks, why Dirk Nowitzki was one of his favorite players growing up and how he enjoyed the success of his Texas A&M Aggies on the football field. Listen

Dallas has lost 13 of 14 games against the conference’s top five teams, including 0-11 against the top four seeds. Six of those losses came by double figures, five by 20-plus points.

That’s a trend the Mavs have an opportunity to end with the 48-22 Los Angeles Clippers in town tonight.

“It’s time,” Shawn Marion said. “We’ve been right there scratching at the door of a lot of these best teams in the Western Conference. It’s time. We’re starting to get our continuity a little better and our defensive principles down. Gotta make it happen.”

Marion makes a legitimate point. The Mavs’ two meetings with elite West teams this month could have gone either way. Vince Carter’s 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out in a 92-91 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The score was tied with a minute remaining in a 107-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But close doesn’t count for a team fighting to get into the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season. For the Mavs to beat the odds and punch their postseason ticket, they must have some success against the West’s best, considering the 12 games left on the schedule include tonight’s meeting with the Clippers, home and road games against the Denver Nuggets and a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

“We can be playing a college team – we need the win,” Carter said. “I think records really at this point go out the window because whether they’re the best team or the worst team, we have to win. We have to find a way.

“We have, what, 12 games? It’s a small window. The games are so important. It can’t matter what it says on the opponent’s jersey.”

The Mavs have kept their playoff hopes alive by going 21-13 since being a dozen-year-low of 10 games under .500. That’s the fifth-best record in the West during that span. After eight wins in 11 games, the Mavs find themselves only a game and a half behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers, losers of three in a row.

Coach Rick Carlisle acknowledges the Mavs’ lack of success against the West’s best, but it doesn’t do him any good to think about what’s already happened. He’d rather discuss the two days of meticulous preparation for the Clippers, focusing on details such as ball security and boxing out against their freakishly athletic foe.

“Right now, we need to win one game,” Carlisle said, “and that’s tonight. “

DALLAS – Lamar Odom, whose one-year stint with the Mavericks was one of the biggest disgraces in Dallas sports history, returns to the scene of the crime Tuesday night.

PODCAST
DeAndre Jordan of the L.A. Clippers joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to talk about the Mavericks, why Dirk Nowitzki was one of his favorite players growing up and how he enjoyed the success of his Texas A&M Aggies on the football field. Listen

The court of public opinion has found Odom guilty of first-degree basketball fraud for his antics last season, when his out-of-shape body went through the motions with the Mavericks while he left his heart and mind in Los Angeles.

Khloe’s little Lam Lam was acquitted on one count of attempted murder on the Mavs’ soul. After all, Odom can’t be reasonably accused of trying during his four months of failure in Dallas.

“It was like going to war with wet gunpowder,” Donnie Nelson said after the Mavs parted ways with the veteran in April, summing up the Lamar Odom saga in Dallas.

Alas, the punishment for Odom’s hoops felony is pretty light. Other than a permanently stained reputation for the former reality show star, all Odom has to deal with is the wrath of the American Airlines Center crowd during the Los Angeles Clippers’ lone visit this season.

It’s safe to assume that Mark Cuban will join a sellout crowd in giving Odom a cold welcome. Cuban admits to muttering bad things about Odom under his breath during the Mavs’ two road losses to the Clippers earlier this season. The boo-every-time-he-touches-the-ball treatment would be appropriate.

You can’t blame Cuban for still being furious about Odom’s fraud. Forget what seemed like a steal of a deal backfiring in the Mavs front office’s face. Odom made Cuban look like a fool for having his back over and over again to the point of being perceived as an enabler, especially during Odom’s bizarre post-All-Star-break sabbatical, when the owner met with Odom at the W Hotel to talk him into rejoining the team while the rest of the Mavs were in the midst of the lockout-compressed season’s most grueling stretch of games.

Cuban finally had his fill of Odom’s bull by April 7, well after home fans had started booing him. After seeing Odom loaf through four first-half minutes in Memphis that night, Cuban angrily confronted him in the locker room, repeatedly asking if he was “in or out.” Odom’s response of “stop playing games” didn’t satisfy the owner, who decided to send Odom home for the rest of the season, paying him to just go away.

Oh, and the Mavs aren’t done paying for the Odom ordeal.

Dallas still has to give up a first-round pick to complete the Odom trade. It’s now the property of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who acquired it in the James Harden deal from the Houston Rockets, who acquired it from the Lakers along with Derek Fisher (how fitting) for Jordan Hill.

The pick is top-20 protected through 2017, so the worst-case scenario is that the OKC gets a lottery gift from its Interstate 35 rival in 2018, just before Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook turn 30.

Maybe the Odom deal, which was made possible by the trade exception created in the sign-and-trade that sent Tyson Chandler to the New York Knicks, was the basketball gods’ way of punishing Cuban for breaking up a team coming off an NBA title.

The basketball gods certainly didn’t enact any vengeance on Odom. He landed back in Los Angeles with the contending Clippers, making the full $8.2 million salary in the final season of his contract to serve as a role player on arguably the NBA’s best bench. (The fact that Dallas was able to trade Odom for essentially nothing instead of having to pay his $2.4 million buyout was considered a minor win for the Mavs.)

Odom hasn’t exactly regained his Sixth Man of the Year from 2010-11. In fact, he’s averaging a career-low 4.1 points per game while shooting an unsightly 38.8 percent from the floor, numbers that are a continuation of his drastic offensive decline last season. However, Odom has been a contributor for the Clippers since getting in reasonably decent shape, averaging 5.8 rebounds in 20.4 minutes and playing good defense.

“He’s in a situation that’s really perfect for him,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said, taking the diplomatic route. “He’s a defender, rebounder and can play off of other people. He’s having a really good year for them.”

Mavs fans have every right to interrupt that “really good year” by making Odom miserable for one night.

DALLAS -- If you judge just by scoring average, March has been O.J. Mayo’s worst month by far in a Mavericks uniform. Yet coach Rick Carlisle considers Mayo a much-improved player.

The fact that Mayo is averaging only 12.8 points per game this month – a drastic drop from the 17.9 he averaged before the All-Star break – doesn’t concern Carlisle at all. While Mayo is taking a lot fewer shots, this has been his most efficient month.

In 13 March games, Mayo is shooting 49.6 percent from the floor and 53.5 percent from 3-point range, both his best marks for a month this season. He’s also dishing out 4.8 assists per game, his second-highest total for a month, and has slashed his turnovers to a season-low 1.5 a night.

Carlisle considers all that to be evidence that Mayo has received his message.

“Generally, our team functions better when he plays an efficient all-around game,” Carlisle said. “There are nights when we need him to step up his scoring, but it’s not a situation where he needs to come into each game thinking he’s got to score 20 or 25. It’s just not like that. And I think when he’s in an all-around-play and ball-movement mode and finding people, he does a really nice job of playmaking.

“That’s a big part of our game because he’s always going to be aggressive to score, and when the shots are there he takes them. When he sees both the shot opportunities and the teammates, that’s when we’re in business.”

Mayo is no longer the Mavs’ leading scorer this season. His averaged has dropped to 16.51 points per game, three-hundredths of a point behind Dirk Nowitzki.

A selfish player would see his scoring average drop and make hunting for shots a priority. That’s especially true with Mayo set to hit the free agent market again this summer, assuming he declines his option to make $4.2 million in the second season of his contract and looks for a long-term deal.

The 25-year-old Mayo, however, has shown the maturity to not force things within the Mavs’ flow offense.

He’s improved “massively” as a facilitator this season, according to Carlisle, who criticized Mayo after a five-turnover outing against Milwaukee a month ago. Carlisle, who has given large helpings of tough love to Mayo all season, declared then that Mayo “was not a creator” and needed to keep the game simple.

Since then? Mayo has consistently made simple, smart passes.

“He’s improved his recognition of the overall game, he’s improved his recognition in pick-and-rolls, being able to see the shot opportunity or the teammate on the roll or the pop,” Carlisle said. “He works hard at it and he wants to be really good.”

Would Mayo prefer for the Mavs to run more plays with pindowns or screens designed to get him shots? Sure, probably. But Mayo wants to win, and if that means moving the ball instead of shooting it, he’s more than willing to do it.

“I’m a scorer and can shoot the ball a little bit, but I like to be a playmaker,” Mayo said. “I like to try to take what the defense gives you and not just concentrate on scoring the ball. Find other guys.

“Just try to play the game the right way.”

His coach recognizes that Mayo has made major strides. The stats reflect it, too, if you dig deeper than points per game.

Free agent guard Justin Dentmon signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Dentmon (6-0, 185) is averaging 26.0 points in 22 games with the Texas Legends of the D-League. He was the MVP of the league in 2011-12 with the Austin Toros.

DALLAS – Maybe the Mavericks will get rid of those bushy beards before they hit the beach.

As has been well chronicled, several Mavs made a pact a couple of months ago that they wouldn’t shave until they get back to .500. (We assume all bets are off once the season is over.) They’ve at least reached the point where grabbing a razor appears to be realistic.

With eight wins in their last 11 games, the Mavs (34-36) are within two games of .500 for the first time this calendar year. The last time they were this close to breaking even was when Dallas had a 12-14 record in late December.

The Mavs’ playoff hopes have also been boosted from puny to possible. They’re only two games behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers with an April 2 date at the Staples Center looming.

But first thing’s first.

"Making the playoffs is most important,” Elton Brand said, “but shaving is essential."

Can the Mavs go for the Gillettes on this homestand? It won’t be easy. They have three playoff teams – the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls – coming to town this week.

But the Mavs, who are 21-13 since being a dozen-year-low of 10 games under .500, consider themselves a playoff team despite what the standings say. They’ve got a dozen games left to prove themselves right.

“We’ve got to keep pushing forward,” Mike James said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good situation. It’s been tough, the hole that we had to dig ourselves out of, but we’re still fighting to get out of it. We’ve got to get our nails dirty. We’ve got to continue to get our nails dirty and dig ourselves completely out of this hole that we put ourselves in at the beginning of the season.

“We’re playing probably the best basketball that we’ve played all season now, and this is the right time to be peaking.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ closer-than-it-shoulda-been win:

1. Recharged Brand: Friday night wasn’t the first time Elton Brand had been a DNP-CD during his decorated NBA career. The rest were just when his coach opted to rest him before the playoffs.

In this case, coach Rick Carlisle thought Brand could benefit from a game off, especially against the small-ball Celtics. Brand’s performance in Sunday’s win proved Carlisle right.

“I always want to make my boss look smart,” Brand said, half-kidding after he had 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, five rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes. “It worked. I definitely felt fresher. Even had a dunk.”

Forget the dunk. Let’s discuss Brand’s defense.

After the first quarter, it looked like Al Jefferson would feast on the Mavs. Utah’s beefy big man had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter but finished the game with only 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Credit Brand for cooling off Jefferson, who had only three points on 1-of-4 shooting in the 11 minutes he was defended by the 6-foot-9, 255-pound 14-year veteran. Jefferson has 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting in 41 minutes against Brand this season.

“Against the big bruisers – and they’re coming in, it’s gonna be a murderer’s row of them the next three games – we need to have Elton fresh,” Carlisle said. “He did a great job tonight.”

2. 86 seconds of stink: The Mavs almost managed to screw up 46-plus good minutes with a miserable finish.

The Jazz scored 16 points in the final 1:26 of what should have been garbage time to make it a one-possession game with 7.3 seconds remaining. The Mavs survived after Darren Collison iced the win with a couple of free throws, but their coach wasn’t exactly thrilled.

“My team’s execution in the last minute and a half? I’m in favor of it,” Carlisle said, borrowing a line from former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Rich McKay. “The end of the game was ugly, but we got through it. I guess I’ve been around this long enough to realize and understand that you can’t make a win feel like a loss.”

3. Dirk’s rest: The Mavs didn’t need Dirk Nowitzki to play a second in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

It’s nice to be able to limit the 34-year-old to 26 minutes in a win under any circumstances. He ought to have fresh legs when the Clippers come to town Tuesday, assuming he isn’t under the weather.

Nowitzki left the locker room before the media entered because he was feeling a bit ill, although it isn’t anything the Mavs are concerned about.

“Watching the last minute of that game made everybody sick,” one Mavs staffer cracked.

DALLAS -- You can consider the fact that the Dallas Mavericks' starting point guard is a 37-year-old dude who had played a total of 15 games in the previous three NBA seasons and had to beg for a D-League audition a few months ago as proof of just how far this proud franchise has fallen.

Just know that the Mavs are 8-3 since inserting Mike James into the starting lineup.

As a result, with a dozen games to go in the regular season, Dallas has a reasonable chance to contend for the West’s last playoff spot. James, who has played a key role in the Mavs pulling within two games of the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, is loving every minute of it.

“I’m like a little kid in a candy store,” James said with a wide smile after scoring a season-high 19 points -- his most in a game since 2009 -- and dishing out five assists in the Mavs’ 113-108 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. “People don’t understand how much fun I’m having out there.”

It’s a heck of a lot more fun than sitting at home and hoping the phone rings.

James, who didn’t make his NBA debut until he was 26, had to fight to get in the league in the first place. He managed to carve out a productive career -- winning a championship ring as a Detroit Pistons reserve in 2004 and averaging 20.3 points per game for the Toronto Raptors a couple of seasons later -- and he refuses to let it end.

Here he is with his 11th NBA team, having successfully lobbied for an audition with the D-League’s Texas Legends that lasted two games before the point guard-desperate Mavs called him up. He survived two 10-day contracts and has thrived as a starter, averaging 10.4 points and 4.8 assists in the past 11 games to help the Mavs get hot.

“They keep trying to tell me that I’m not able to play this game,” James said, still smiling. “They keep telling me that the game has passed me by. It’s not about proving nothing to no one, but it’s like, you know what? Because everyone keeps trying to tell me I can’t play this game no more, I’m out there having a great time.

“I’m out there doing something that I love doing, looking forward to tomorrow’s practice because I love working.”

While he’s in phenomenal shape for a man his age, James had to work himself back into NBA game shape after joining the Mavs. That, of course, is to be expected of a player who didn’t have a full-time job the previous three years and was out of the league for the entire 2010-11 season.

James’ shooting percentage looked like a mediocre utility man’s batting average for several weeks. It’s still only 36.5 percent overall, but James has hit 40 percent of his 3s this season, including 29 of 60 in March.

“Once he got his legs, you could just see he had more arc on his shot,” sixth man Vince Carter said. “He’s just been in an unreal rhythm for our team.”

James is far from a perfect point guard. He’s really a combo guard who is more comfortable scoring than distributing, which is why he took the brunt of the blame when Dirk Nowitzki's hot hand didn’t get fed nearly enough in the Mavs’ past two losses.

But the Mavs appreciate James’ fearless attitude. They respect the way he fights and love that he never shies away from a challenge, whether it’s taking a big shot, defending the opponent’s best guard or whatever else is necessary to keep the Mavs’ playoff hopes alive.

“He has a tremendous enthusiasm for the game, and he competes,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a competitor. He’s a gamer.

“The thing I like about him: He’s one of these guys that has great experience, and he has great confidence in himself. If there’s blunt things you need to say to him, you can be completely straightforward with him. He’ll take everything the right way, and he’ll keep battling his butt off.”

James had to battle his butt off to just get back into the league. He’s having a grand ol’ time helping the Mavs win now, as hard as it all is to believe.

A dominant stretch of seven-plus minutes made the difference in what had been a back-and-forth game.

The Dallas Mavericks roared off on a tiebreaking 20-2 run that began midway through the third quarter.

Point guard Mike James had seven of his season-high 19 points during the spurt, highlighting his highest scoring game in four years. Vince Carter, another one of the seven Mavs who scored in double figures, added six of his 15 points during the game-changing stretch.

But Dallas’ defense was the most remarkable thing about the run. The Jazz were 1-of-11 from the floor with five turnovers, while the Mavs seized control of the game.

That run could pay dividends the rest of the homestand, which wraps up with three games against playoff teams next week. It allowed coach Rick Carlisle to rest Dirk Nowitzki for the entire fourth quarter. Nowitzki finished with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 27 minutes.

The Utah Jazz dominated garbage time -- going on a 21-7 run to pull within three points with 7.6 seconds remaining -- to make the game look much closer than it was.

It appeared early on that Utah center Al Jefferson might be too much for the Mavs. He had 11 points in the first quarter, but he scored only two buckets the rest of the game, finishing with 15 points. The physical defense of Elton Brand (10 points, five rebounds in 17 minutes) was a major factor in cooling off Jefferson.

What it means: The Mavs pulled even with the Jazz at 34-36. They’re tied for ninth place in the Western Conference standings, but Utah holds the tiebreaker due to the Jazz’s two home wins over Dallas earlier this season. The Mavs have won eight of their past 11 games and are only two games behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers.

Play of the game: Brandan Wright had only a few buckets, but one of them was a beauty. After Carter missed a wild fadeaway in the lane, Wright soared over Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors for a one-hand putback slam in the first quarter.

Stat of the night: The Mavs are 17-3 when they shoot at least 50 percent from the floor this season. They made 54.3 percent of their field goal attempts Sunday.

DALLAS -- Gotta give Rodrigue Beaubois credit for keeping a positive outlook after suffering a serious injury.

It is expected to take Beaubois 4-6 weeks to recover from surgery to repair a spiral fracture of the second metacarpal of his left hand. That means he won’t play again for the rest of the regular season.

“For the playoffs, we don’t know,” Beaubois said. “If I come back quickly, we’ll see.”

It doesn’t get much more optimistic than not only believing Beaubois will be ready to play by the short end of the timetable, but also anticipating the Mavs will make the playoffs.

In all likelihood, Beaubois won’t play again until next season, and he very well might have played his last game for the Mavs.

But Beaubois said he doesn’t want to think about his pending free agency at this point.

“Even though I cannot play right now, I still really want us to make the playoffs,” Beaubois said. “So I’m going to be around the guys and do everything I can to help them make the playoffs. And when the season is over, then I’ll think about the summer.”

With guard Rodrigue Beaubois likely to miss the rest of the season after hand surgery, Dallas Mavericks officials have decided to audition various young guards in his place through the end of the regular season while they continue to chase a playoff spot in the West.

Sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com that the Mavericks will next sign guard Justin Dentmon from their own D-League affiliate to a 10-day deal, most likely finalizing a contract with the Texas Legends' leading scorer Monday.

The team on Friday notified Chris Wright -- who now ranks as the only player in NBA history known to have multiple sclerosis -- that he would not be receiving a second 10-day deal. In the wake of Beaubois' injury, Dallas has decided to use its 15th roster spot to get to know various young players for potential down-the-road signings.

That means, sources say, Dallas is likely to bring in another player on a 10-day basis after Dentmon's trial. Dentmon is averaging 26.0 points through 22 games with the Legends and was the D-League's MVP last season while playing for the San Antonio Spurs' affiliate in Austin, earning callups from both the Spurs and Toronto Raptors.

It's fitting that on the day of his return to Dallas, Jason Terry discussed his hatred for the Heat.

Of course, that subject has been in the spotlight a lot recently, with Jet's declaration that he's not impressed by the Heat's historic win streak and his co-starring role on LeBron James' new poster.

"[It's] not even LeBron personally. It's just the Miami Heat. Is it the red and black? Maybe. I hate that color," Terry told Boston radio station WEEI on Friday. "I just don't like them. Let me tell you like this: It goes back to [the 2006 Finals]. And it doesn't matter who's in those Miami Heat uniforms. Let's just be real: You're up 2-0 and they come back and win four straight games and you lose the NBA Finals. So LeBron inherited something bigger than the matchup of he and I. It's about the Miami Heat and that organization."

Terry readily admitted a personal rivalry with James has blossomed, though.

"Hey, he picked his poison. They put him on me to shut me down in the NBA Finals in 2011 and he couldn't get the job done," Terry said. "Hopefully, he'll have another chance this year in the Eastern Conference finals -- or wherever we match up -- but I'm telling you right now, I love us. I love the way we're built. We miss [Rajon] Rondo, we miss [Jared] Sullinger, but with this team we have, we have a chance."

I wouldn't bet on Boston, but Terry has a history of backing up bold talk against King James.

DALLAS – Jet never really got off the runway during his return to the American Airlines Center.

Jason Terry, the man coach Rick Carlisle refers to as Mavericks royalty, received a standing ovation when he checked into the game but never made much of an impact for the Boston Celtics. Playing in Dallas for the first time since essentially being forced to leave in free agency, Terry was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and had as many turnovers as field goals.

“It was a good feeling, but I was solely locked in on the game,” Terry said of the warm welcome from Mavs fans. “It was good to see everyone, but I’m a Celtic now.”

It’s been a tough week for Terry. People are still buzzing about LeBron James’ and-1 dunk over him Monday. He went scoreless in Wednesday’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets. And he was a nonfactor against his former team, when he had about 100 friends and family members in the stands.

“We have great respect for Jet and what he can do in a game,” Carlisle said. “I think our guys just gave him the respect he deserves and really played him hard. They just tried to make it tough. He got some shots. I’m not going to say we shut him down or anything like that, but guys battled him all night and that’s what we needed to do.”

Terry exchanged postgame hugs with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Carlisle and a few former teammates, but he wasn’t in a good mood after the Celtics’ third straight loss.

“All I was worried about was getting a win,” Terry said. “We have to end this road trip on a good note. Right now we’re just not getting it done.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ bounce-back game:

1. Dirk’s workload: Rick Carlisle considers Dirk Nowitzki’s recent low shot totals “an overblown conversation” – and Dirk concurs -- but the coach posed one question when asked about the subject.

“Did he have more shots than Mike James?” Carlisle said.

Yep:

James – 2-7 FG, seven points, six assists

Dirk – 8-15 FG, 22 points

“That’s good. That’s good,” Carlisle said. “It’s an awareness that we have to have. You guys can all see what happens. When we slow down and start calling plays, teams lock into us. It’s a harder game for us to play because of how we’re set up. We have to have an awareness. We have to involve Dirk in as many things as we possibly can without having to call plays.

“A lot of attention is on the point guards for that, but really it’s a responsibility for everybody on that.”

A big part of it is on Nowitzki, especially when the Mavs succeed at pushing the pace.

“I ran to the box a little more early in transition,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got to do if things are not going well. When our flow is going well and we’re scoring, then I’m fine. We can swing it and pick and roll it. But if I feel like it’s getting into a hole a little bit, then maybe I just have to run to the box and demand the ball a little bit more.”

2. OJ vs. KG?: It’s nothing new for Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett, the league’s premier jaw-jacker, to exchange a little trash talk.

But O.J. Mayo got involved this time, stepping between the two (along with a ref) and telling Garnett, “Back off my man!” Not that Nowitzki noticed.

“He said he had my back,” Dirk said, “but I’ve got to look at the film to make sure he was actually there.”

As far as the KG-Dirk trash talk, Nowitzki called it “nothing” to some of the on-court conversations over the years between the two legends, power forwards who will get to the Hall of Fame with completely different games.

“He’s the man. He’s just a fierce competitor,” Nowitzki said. “We had a few words there, but actually if you go way back, we got into it more than it was today. That was the soft version.”

Nowitzki could have reminded Garnett of their lone playoff meeting, when the Mavs swept the T-Wolves in three games with 23-year-old Dirk putting up 30-15, 31-15 and 39-17, but it didn’t come up in the heat of Friday’s moment.

Mayo (10 points, nine assists) also managed to get the last word on Garnett. After hitting a dagger 3, a mismatched Mayo stole a pass intended for a posted-up Garnett with a little more than a minute remaining, then made sure KG knew about it.

3. Matrix reloaded: Welcome back, Shawn Marion.

After eight games out due to a strained calf, Marion was up to his old tricks, putting up 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 31 minutes. He also was the key to keeping Paul Pierce (16 ponts) in check and guarded St. Patrick’s Day star Jeff Green (10 points) in spots.

“I was able to do a lot of things I normally do,” Marion said.

That’s good news to the Mavs, whose recent rebounding struggles turned around, beating the Celtics by double digits on the glass.

“We missed his abilities as a basketball player,” Carlisle said. “He’s one of our best athletes. His activity is something you can’t duplicate with any other normal player. He’s just a very unique guy.”

DALLAS – The Mavericks figured out a way to get many more touches for one of the NBA’s most efficient scoring big guys, and benefited greatly from it.

Oh, and Dirk Nowitzki got a lot more looks, too.

With all due respect to Dirk -– and apologies to Jason Terry, whose American Airlines Center return was ruined -– this was Brandan Wright’s night.

Wright got a spot start Friday night and responded by making a major impact in the Mavs’ 104-94 win over the Boston Celtics, leading all scorers with a season-high 23 points and grabbing a season-high-matching eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Nowitzki got his most shots in a week, scoring 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

It’s a mutually beneficial frontcourt pairing on the offensive end. There’s no question that Wright, who attempted a career-high 16 shots from the floor and made all but two of his 10 buckets from within five feet of the hoop, gets great looks because of the attention defenses must pay Nowitzki on the perimeter. And Wright’s success around and above the rim creates more space for Dirk to work in the midrange.

“We play well off each other,” Nowitzki said. “We complement each other pretty well.”

Added Wright, whose 62.2 field goal percentage would rank third in the league if he had enough attempts to qualify: “[Our games] fit perfect together. He’s working the 15-20-foot range and I can work inside of that. When his man is hugging up on him and they’re cheating over with my guy, I can get around the rim and make plays.”

It’s a combination that has had tremendous success in a small sample size this season. The Nowitzki-Wright duo is tied for the second-best plus-minus (plus-87) among Dallas duos, behind only Nowitzki and Vince Carter.

However, coach Rick Carlisle has played Wright with Nowitzki for only 213 minutes this season, according to the NBA’s stats. By comparison, Nowitzki has been paired with Elton Brand for 508 minutes (minus-3), Chris Kaman for 347 minutes (minus-63) and even rookie Bernard James for 128 minutes (minus-7).

This was only the second time this season Wright and Nowitzki started together. The other occurrence was a win over the Houston Rockets earlier this month.

Why not play Wright and Nowitzki together more often? Carlisle is concerned about the slight, 6-foot-10, 210-pound Wright, whose rebounding problems made him a fringe rotation player for much of the season, being overpowered by traditional centers while playing next to Nowitzki.

That wasn’t a concern against the Celtics, who start Kevin Garnett at center and play a lot of smallball.

“It’s his kind of game because there was a lot of small guys out there,” Carlisle said of Wright, who is averaging 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game in March. “That was the reason we started him. He navigates well in an athletic game without a lot of bruisers in it. He played huge for us.”

Added Nowitzki: “When he uses his athleticism, he’s a force for us. This was a game that was right up his alley.”

Those aren’t exactly votes of confidence that Wright can have similar success Sunday against the Utah Jazz’s four-man big rotation, headlined by 6-foot-10, 265-pound Al Jefferson. It’s extremely unlikely that Brand, the Mavs’ best banger, will get a DNP-CD for the second straight game and second time this season.

Wright, however, makes a case that he can be effective against the bruising bigs.

“We’ve got to run,” Wright said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. We don’t want to slow it down with those guys and get into a half-court type of game.

“We can expose those guys. We feel like we can attack them. When we get in those type of grinding games, that’s just not our strength as a team, period. If we can get up and down, we’ll be in good shape.”

With the way Wright’s been rolling, maybe he ought to get a chance to prove himself right.

 

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks played drastically better defense than in their previous two games and got the ball in the hands of their hot frontcourt duo.

After allowing 113 points in each of the past two games, the Mavs held the Celtics to 41.6 percent shooting. With the way that Dirk Nowitzki and Brandan Wright were working on the offensive end, the Mavs managed to beat a playoff-caliber Boston team.

Nowitzki, whose low shot totals in recent games had been an alarming trend, scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Wright, a surprise starter at center, scored a season-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting.

The different styles of Nowitzki and Wright complemented each other well. Nowitzki, as has been the case for years, did most of his damage with midrange jumpers. The majority of Wright’s buckets came around -– and over -– the rim.

Shawn Marion made his presence felt in his return after missing eight games due to a strained left calf. He posted a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo added 10 points and nine assists, hitting a dagger 3 with 1:21 remaining.

Jason Terry, Nowitzki’s scoring sidekick for eight seasons before signing with the Celtics last summer, was a nonfactor in his return to the American Airlines Center. Terry, who received a standing ovation when he checked into the game in the first quarter, scored only eight points on 3-of-9 shooting.

What it means: The Mavs avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this month. Dallas (33-36) is 8-4 in March, keeping its slim playoff hopes alive. The Mavs are 2½ games out of eighth place in the West standings after the Los Angeles Lakers’ late loss to the Washington Wizards. The Celtics (36-32) fell to seventh in the East, a half-game behind the Chicago Bulls.

Play of the game: Vince Carter threw down an electrifying tomahawk dunk off a backdoor cut in the third quarter. After Carter cut and caught a bounce pass from Chris Kaman, he vaulted off two feet, cocked the ball back and threw it down to give the Mavs a 10-point lead.

Stat of the night: The Mavs never trailed in a game for just the second time this season. The other was a Jan. 14 home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

DALLAS – Jason Terry’s career took off when he improved his game after his first season in Dallas.

Mark Cuban believes the same thing could happen for O.J. Mayo.

“At 25, he’s going to get better,” Cuban said of Mayo. “Much, much better.”

If you just look at the numbers, Mayo’s production this season (16.7 PPG, 4.4 APG) stacks up well to what Terry did throughout his eight-year tenure with the Mavs. The most glaring difference, however, was that Terry developed into a dominant clutch player after an inconsistent first season in Dallas, arriving as a 27-year-old in a trade from Atlanta.

“You just can’t replace his kind of experience,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Terry, who returns to the American Airlines Center tonight with the Celtics.

Mayo has shown he can be a clutch scorer, averaging 27.3 points per 48 minutes this season in clutch situations (last five minutes, score within five points). However, he’s committed way too many turnovers, averaging 3.5 per 48 clutch minutes, a rate that gets alarmingly higher the later close games get.

That’s part of the learning process. And Cuban believes Terry’s development in Dallas should be an example for Mayo.

“They’re completely different players, but I think O.J. can learn a lot from Jet,” Cuban said. “Jet really got better when he became catch and shoot or one dribble and shoot. I think that’s something that O.J. needs to add to his game, and I’ve told that to him.”

Mayo’s work ethic is one thing that can’t be questioned. That’s the primary reason Cuban believes that Mayo, who is extremely likel to exercise his right to be a free agent again this summer, can improve drastically.

“What I love about O.J. is nobody works harder to get better,” Cuban said. “Not just on shooting, which everybody works on, but his knowledge of the game, his dedication to the game. It’s really, really surprised me how committed he is.”

DALLAS -- The good news: Dirk Nowitzki is shooting 74.2 percent from the floor in the last three games.

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Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss Jason Terry's return to Dallas, why Dirk Nowitzki isn't getting the ball enough at the end of games and much more. Listen

The bad news: Nowitzki has attempted only 31 shots in that span, including only 10 in each of the Mavericks’ two losses.

Yes, the Mavs want to be a balanced offensive team. But there’s no doubt that when Dirk gets hot, he needs to be fed a bunch more.

“It’s a team responsibility. It’s a coaching responsibility,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Guys on the floor have got to make sure he’s touching it more. If I’ve got to call more plays to get the ball in his hands, I will.”

Carlisle can do his part by calling more plays designed for Nowitzki. Those plays still have to be executed, though.

And that’s why this is a point guard issue, as much as anything.

Nowitzki admits he’s been spoiled during his career, having played long stretches with Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, two of five men in NBA history with more than 10,000 assists. Now Mike James, a 37-year-old journeyman combo guard, is the Mavs’ primary point.

James has attempted more shots than Nowitzki in each of the Mavs’ last two losses despite the fact that the future Hall of Famer was 80 percent from the floor in both games. James understands that’s far from ideal shot distribution.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we find him as many open looks as we possibly can,” James said. “Our offense, our team flows through Dirk. We understand that. I just have to make more of a conscious effort to just make sure he’s getting his attempts.”

With defenses focusing on Nowitzki, there can be a fine line between feeding him and forcing the ball to him. And the Mavs don’t want James, who is shooting 48.9 percent from 3-point range in the last 10 games, to pass up open looks to get Nowitzki the ball in tight quarters.

But there’s no question Nowitzki needs more touches, especially when he’s in a groove.

“It’s not about sacrificing,” James said. “It’s just about making sure that he doesn’t go down two, three possessions without touching the ball. We just have to make a conscious effort that whatever play we run, I’m making sure I’m really making an effort to look for him and find him.”