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The Dallas Mavericks completed their season sweep with another spectacular offensive outing against the Sacramento Kings.

Shawn Marion (25 points, 12 rebounds) led five Mavs who scored in double figures against the Kings, who allowed four of Dallas’ top five scoring totals this season. Brandan Wright added 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting off the bench.

The Mavs shot 51.1 percent from the floor and had 30 assists with only nine turnovers. Dallas seized the lead for good while putting up 41 points in the second quarter, the Mavs’ second highest-scoring quarter of the season.

The Kings, who got big nights from guards Tyreke Evans (26 points, nine rebounds, six assists) and Isaiah Thomas (29 points), trimmed Dallas’ lead to four with a run early in the fourth quarter. The Mavs responded with a 9-0 run in which guards Darren Collison (18 points, eight assists) and O.J. Mayo (13 points, six assists) accounted for every point.

Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, a talented but troubled young center whom the Mavs have interest in acquiring, played only nine minutes due to a recent dispute with Kings coach Keith Smart.

What it means: The Mavs made sure this wouldn’t be a winless road trip, snapping a two-game losing streak. Dallas improved to 37-39, keeping them three games behind the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, pending the outcome of L.A.’s late game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Play of the game: Collison penetrated, drew three defenders and kicked the ball out to Dirk Nowitzki near the top of the 3-point arc with the clocking ticking down at the end of the first half. Nowitzki drilled the buzzer-beating 3 to stretch the Mavs’ lead to six at the break.

Stat of the game: His second assist of the game gave Vince Carter 4,000 for his career. That made him the 15th player in NBA history with at least 22,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. The other members of that exclusive club: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek, Alex English, Kevin Garnett, Jerry West, Paul Pierce, Charles Barkley, Ray Allen and Clyde Drexler.

DENVER – What happened to one of the great closers in NBA history during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s down-to-the-wire loss?

Dirk Nowitzki essentially disappeared on the offensive end in the final dozen minutes.

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Nowitzki didn’t score a single point in the final frame of the 95-94 loss to the Nuggets. He attempted only two shots in the quarter. His biggest impact play was a turnover with 19.9 seconds left.

What did the Nuggets do to shut down Dirk?

“Just front me in the post,” said Nowitzki, who finished the game with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. “I did have one catch down there and shot a fadeaway. I should have made a stronger move than that. Other than that, just front me, backside help. That was really about it.”

Not coincidentally, the Mavs’ offense was miserable in the fourth quarter, scoring only 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting.

Nowitzki got one really good look … and somehow airballed a straightway 3 with 10:33 remaining. He didn’t get another shot until his failed fadeaway with 46.8 seconds to go.

Coach Rick Carlisle tried to give Dirk a chance to deliver the dagger, but that turned into disaster. With the Mavs clinging to a one-point lead, Dallas ran an isolation play for Nowitzki near the top of the key, but ex-Mav Corey Brewer swiped the ball when Nowitzki made a spin move.

“I thought actually I could quick dribble it and spin before Brewer gets the ball,” Nowitzki said. “I saw him right there, but as soon as I put it down, he’s so quick. That’s what he does. He dove in there and got his hands on it. At that point, probably the wrong move. It was so clogged, the only thing I had was just the spot-up shot. I probably should have just shot over him.”

It was clogged because the Mavs had poor spacing on the play. Instead of overloading one side to give Dirk room to work, the Mavs had two players on each side of the court.

“That’s on me,” Carlisle said. “It’s a case of, yeah, we always want to get him the ball when we can. When we can’t, he affects the game in a way that helps other guys get shots. That’s when we need other guys to step up.”

Nowitzki was not involved in the play when the Mavs had a chance to win the game on the final possession, standing on the opposite side of the court while Anthony Morrow’s desperation 3-pointer got blocked.

A few more notes from yet another frustrating Mavs loss:

1. Final failure: With 2.8 seconds remaining and the Mavs trailing by one, Carlisle didn’t want rarely used reserve Anthony Morrow shooting a contested 3-pointer off the dribble. That’s what happened, with Brewer blocking Morrow’s shot.

What did Carlisle want in that situation?

“Not what happened,” Carlisle said. “Again, I’m responsible for that. That’s as far as I’m going to go with it.”

Nowitzki, who had a nice view from the opposite side of the court, shed some light on what was supposed to happen.

“The play was for Vince (Carter) coming off and curling to the corner, but Andre Miller was right there and took that away,” Nowitzki said. “(Morrow) ran a circle and came back up, wasn’t really free but tried to make the best out of it and got a shot up and got it blocked.”

2. Brewer’s big game: Brewer, whom the Mavs traded to Denver along with Rudy Fernandez for a 2016 second-round pick in a salary-dump deal before last season, torched his former team.

Brewer scored 23 points in 35 minutes off the bench, stepping up after small forward Danilo Gallinari suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the second quarter.

Brewer also made three critical plays in the final 19.9 seconds: stealing the ball from Nowitzki, grabbing the offensive rebound to make Andre Iguodala’s game-winning drive possible and blocking Morrow’s shot.

“He’s a good player,” Nowitzki said. “You’ve got to give him credit. He played well.”

3. Foul night for Mayo: It’s never good to finish with more fouls than points. That was the case for O.J. Mayo, who matched a season low with four points and fouled out for only the fifth time in his career.

Mayo picked up his fourth foul 58 seconds after halftime and sat out the rest of the third quarter. He was whistled for his fifth foul 54 seconds into the fourth quarter and fouled out on an and-1 pull-up jumper by Andre Miller with 1:48 remaining.

“You’re going to have nights like that,” Mayo said. “You try to play hard even though you have some fouls, try to stay aggressive, but the whistles didn’t go my way tonight.”

DENVER -- The miserable feeling the Dallas Mavericks had in the mile-high altitude is far too familiar.

Add this to the long list of games the Mavs figured out how to lose.

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In this instance, the Mavs put themselves into position to pull off a huge upset only to fail to finish the job. The Denver Nuggets led for a grand total of 2.8 seconds in the second half Thursday night and walked out of the Pepsi Center with their 19th consecutive home win.

After leading by as many as eight points early in the fourth quarter, the Mavs were clinging to a one-point lead in the final minute. At that point, the Mavs had a well-rounded meltdown.

Poor offensive execution? Check. Poor spacing helped cause a Dirk Nowitzki turnover with 19.9 seconds remaining, and rarely used reserve Anthony Morrow, of all people, ended up jacking up a wanna-be game-winning shot at the buzzer, only to have the 25-footer swatted by Corey Brewer.

Awful rebounding? Check. The Nuggets extended their last possession with two offensive rebounds, giving Denver 18 offensive boards for the game. Allowing Brewer to come from above the top of the key to grab a missed free throw was especially costly -- and inexcusable -- for the Mavs.

Terrible defense? Check. Andre Iguodala cruised to the rim after crossing over Vince Carter en route to the game-winning layup.

“We’ve got to win that game,” said Mavs center Brandan Wright, who had a team-high 16 points but went scoreless in the second half. “This is a bad situation. It’s been the story of our season. This is terrible, the worst loss we’ve had all year. We had it and we just fumbled it away.”

The worst loss all year? That’s debatable for the 36-39 Mavs.

The Mavs have been on the wrong end of too many blowouts, but it’s games such as this that will bother them while they’re watching the playoffs from the couch. As Carter said, he doesn’t have enough fingers to count how many times the Mavs have found ways to lose games they should have won.

“There’s gotta be 20 of those games we lost,” said Nowitzki, who was held to 13 points and went scoreless in the fourth quarter. “It stings just as much as all the rest of them. The amount of games we feel like we gave away is tough. This is another one we’ve got to have -- multiple chances to win, basically one rebound to seal it, one big basket. It’s tough.

“It’s tough, but we haven’t shown all season that on the road consistently we can win those games.”

Shawn Marion described the Mavs’ offense as “going from sugar to s---” in the fourth quarter, during which the Mavs scored only 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting. But it’s Denver’s last, long offensive possession that will make the flight to Sacramento so miserable.

After Brewer’s steal, the Nuggets botched a transition opportunity, resulting in Wilson Chandler missing a 4-footer in traffic. Denver forward Kenneth Faried fought for his 19th rebound of the night and got fouled. The Mavs still led by one after Faried missed both of his free throws, but Brewer outhustled everybody to the loose ball to give the Nuggets one last chance.

“We didn’t execute well offensively, and I’ll take responsibility for that,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “But we’ve just got to get a rebound.”

After a timeout, Iguodala made the Mavs pay for failing to get that one rebound. Iguodala got the ball on the right wing, started to drive toward the baseline, left Carter flat-footed with a crossover, cruised through the middle of the defense and laid in the game winner with his left hand.

“We’ve got to make Iguodala earn that,” Carter said. “We can’t just let him go down the middle of our defense and get a layup. We’ve got to put him on the floor, foul him, something.”

Added Nowitzki, who noted that he could have hacked Iguodala: “To give up a game-winning layup is too easy.”

If the Mavs get that one rebound, nobody cares that the Dallas offense was dreadful down the stretch. The Mavs would have been celebrating their most surprising win of the season en route to Sacramento.

“One freakin’ stop,” Carter said, “and we’re having a different conversation.”

Instead, it was the same conversation the Mavs have had so many times during this disappointing season.

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks’ bid to snap the Denver Nuggets’ long home winning streak flopped in the final seconds.

Denver’s Andre Iguodala drove for the game-winning layup with 2.8 seconds remaining. Dallas’ Anthony Morrow, a rarely used reserve, had his 3-pointer at the buzzer blocked by Corey Brewer.

Brewer, whom the Mavs dealt to Denver along with Rudy Fernandez in a salary-dump deal before last season, came up big against his former team. Brewer scored 23 points off the bench, stepping up his offensive game after small forward Danilo Gallinari suffered a potentially serious knee injury in the second quarter, and made three clutch plays in the final minute.

First, Brewer came up with a steal on a Dirk Nowitzki spin move when the Mavs had a one-point lead. Brewer’s offensive rebound on the ensuing possession made Iguodala’s game winner possible. And Brewer sealed the Nuggets’ 19th straight home win with the block.

The Nuggets held Nowitzki to 13 points, none of which came in the fourth quarter. Center Brandan Wright led the Mavs with 16 points, but he was shut out in the second half.

The Nuggets played without point guard Ty Lawson, their leading scorer, but Andre Miller filled the void with 22 points and seven assists. Denver power forward Kenneth Faried added 12 points and 19 rebounds.

Iguodala had only eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, but he hit a big 3 with 4:40 remaining and the game-winning bucket.

The Mavs failed to score after Vince Carter’s jumper with 2:05 remaining.

What it means: The Mavs’ slim playoff hopes took another hit. Dallas dropped to 36-39 after its second consecutive loss to begin this four-game road trip, falling three games behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers, who own the tie-breaker. The Nuggets (52-24) held on to third place in the West standings.

Play of the game: Iguodala slashed through the middle of the Dallas defense, beating Vince Carter with a crossover move and finishing with a left-handed layup with 2.8 seconds remaining for the game-winning bucket.

Stat of the night: The Mavs are 2-14 on the road against the teams above them in the West standings.

DENVER – Elton Brand will be sidelined by a sore right calf for at least one game.

The calf has been bothering Brand since the first quarter of last week’s loss to the Indiana Pacers.

“It’s not progressing like we expected it to,” Brand said. “It’s not getting better. I’m in no way trying to shut it down. I’m definitely trying to get back out there as soon as we can, so we’ll see. It’s like a game-to-game situation.”

Playing in pain, Brand performed poorly the last two games, recording totals of two points and four rebounds against the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, with the Mavs being outscored by 36 points in his 29 minutes. As coach Rick Carlisle said, it has been “obvious” that Brand wasn’t himself.

“You just want to be out there for the guys,” said Brand, who is averaging 7.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.6 minutes. “It’s definitely painful, but a lot of guys are trying to play through ailments. Dirk (Nowitzki) has, I’m sure, 50 of them. O.J. (Mayo) is playing with his shoulder.

“We’re trying to get to .500, get to the playoffs. Against Dwight Howard and guys like that, I had to go. I had to try to go.”

The decision to sit Brand against the Nuggets was made after the calf started bothering him while he was trying to sleep.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently said that he would consider selecting Brittney Griner in the second round of the NBA Draft.

Could Griner play in the NBA? Would it be wise for the Mavericks to use a second-round pick on the Baylor women’s basketball superstar?

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Mavericks don't draft well

Since Cuban became majority owner of the Mavericks in 2000, their 22 draft picks have combined to make just one All-Star appearance -- Josh Howard, a first-round selection in 2003 who played in the NBA ASG in 2007.

In fact, Howard's visit is the only All-Star appearance by any of the Mavericks' 35 draft picks since 1995.

Since 1995, the Mavericks are the only NBA franchise whose second-round draft picks have fewer than two combined career All-Star appearances (other than the Bobcats, whose first season was 2004).

Let's take a look at the Mavericks' second-round picks in the Cuban era:

Darius Johnson-Odom (2012): Four career games, zero career points

Targuy Ngombo (2011): Never played in NBA

Solomon Alabi (2010): 26 career games, 39 career points

Ahmad Nivins (2009): Never played in NBA

Shan Foster (2008): Never played in NBA

Milovan Rakovic (2007): Never played in NBA

Renaldas Seibutis (2007): Never played in NBA

Nick Fazekas (2007): 26 career games, 107 career points

J.R. Pinnock (2006): Never played in NBA

Vassilis Spanoulis (2004): 31 career games, 85 career points

Xue Yuyang (2003): Never played in NBA

Mladen Sekularac (2002): Never played in NBA

Kyle Hill (2001): Never played in NBA

Kenny Satterfield (2001): 75 career games, 321 career points

Dan Langhi (2000): 133 career games, 393 career points

Pete Mickael (2000): Never played in NBA

Since 2000, the Mavericks' 16 second-round picks have a combined 295 career games and 945 career points.

These second-round picks were technically selected by other teams, but acquired by the Mavericks in draft-day deals:

Jae Crowder (2012): 70 games and scored 378 points

Bernard James (2012): 43 games and scored 129 points

Eduardo Najera (2000): 3,052 points in 619 career games

The success rate for second-round picks isn't very high league-wide. From 2000 to 2011, only 30 percent (108 of 356) of second-round picks have played at least 100 career games in the NBA.

Griner dominated college game

Griner has 18 career dunks, more than every other woman combined in Division I history. Griner dunked three times in one game, while Candace Parker is the only other woman to dunk more than three times in her entire college career.

Griner is the most efficient player in women's college basketball. She led the country in points per post-up play and points per play overall this season.

Of course, men's college basketball is a completely different game than Griner's competition. But for what it's worth, nobody in men's college basketball averaged as many points per play (1.14) as Griner averaged on post-ups this season (minimum 150 plays).

Griner held opponents to 0.56 points per play and 23 percent shooting as an on-ball defender this season, both of which led the country (minimum 275 plays).

If Griner posted those same numbers in men's college basketball, she would've led the country in points per post-up plays, points per play allowed and opponent field-goal percentage.

Wouldn't be the first woman to be drafted

If Griner were to be selected, she wouldn't be the first woman ever chosen in the NBA Draft. In 1969, Denise Long was selected in the 13th round by the San Francisco Warriors. Long was a high school player who averaged 62.8 points per game during her senior year. However, the NBA later voided the selection because they felt it was a publicity stunt.

In 1977, Lusia Harris was selected in the seventh round by the New Orleans Jazz. The Delta State star officially became the only woman ever picked in the NBA Draft, although she never actually played in an NBA game.

DENVER – Corey Brewer will forever be remembered by Mavericks fans for his phenomenal eight-minute stint in Game 1 of the 2011 West semifinals, when he came off the bench to spark a comeback at the Staples Center, setting the tone for a stunning sweep of the two-time defending champions.

“Corey won that game against the Lakers for us,” Mark Cuban said recently, “and we’ll be forever in his debt.”

That outing, however, didn’t earn Brewer a spot in the Mavs’ rotation. In fact, he was deemed so expendable that Dallas dealt him and Rudy Fernandez for a 2016 second-round pick in a post-lockout, salary-dump deal with Denver.

Brewer, the slender, springy, 27-year-old small forward, has blossomed into a significant piece of arguably the NBA’s deepest bench in Denver. He’s averaging 11.8 points and 1.4 steals in 24 minutes per game this season, making him a bargain with a $3.24 million salary in the last year of the deal he signed with Dallas midway through the 2010-11 season.

“He has found the perfect situation for him,” said coach Rick Carlisle, who spent many hours working individually with Brewer during the former No. 7 overall pick’s brief stint in Dallas. “They’ve found a player that fits their style.

“Last year when we were formulating our roster and we signed Vince (Carter), there just weren’t going to be a lot of minutes for Fernandez and Brew. And there were financial considerations, so that deal was made. I’m happy for Brew. The guy helped us win a championship."

Cuban called Brewer a “good fit for that system,” referring to the Nuggets’ frenetic pace, but said he had no regret about dealing Brewer to Denver.

“None. Either we were doing what we were going to do or we weren’t, you know?” Cuban said, referring to the Mavs creating salary cap space. “The worst place we could be is caught in between and indecisive. Nope. I mean, he’s a great fit for their team and it’s working out well for him.”

DENVER -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle isn’t ready to offer a scouting report on Brittney Griner and isn’t willing to weigh in on the likelihood of the former Baylor star becoming the first woman to play in the NBA.

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It’s a subject that has been the topic of much discussion after Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Tuesday that he’d consider drafting the 6-foot-8 Griner in the second round and essentially invited her to try out for Dallas’ summer league team.

“I haven’t watched a single game all year,” Carlisle said. “I know she’s a hell of a player. Beyond that, I don’t want to get into the polarizing discussion about it. …

“I think it’s important to have an owner who is open-minded and I think it’s important that the organization is open-minded. But ultimately, whether or not she can play is something I don’t want to get into.”

Dirk Nowitzki respectfully and reasonably expressed doubt about Griner’s ability to compete against NBA players, based simply on her size and skill set.

Griner, who dunked 18 times and set the NCAA record for blocked shots during her spectacular Baylor career, dominated the women’s game with her size and athleticism. However, she’d be extremely undersized as an NBA center.

“(Players that height are) kind of caught between a 3 and a 4,” Nowitzki said, referring to the forward positions. “It’s tough. You’ve got to be fast and athletic at that spot. You’ve got to be able to shoot. You’ve got to be able to go by people, guard people on the other end, chase people off of screen-and-rolls and post up.

“It’s tough, it’s tough.”

DENVER – Coach Rick Carlisle prefers to keep his starting lineup under wraps until the NBA-mandated 16 minutes before tip-off, but Chris Kaman cleared up any mystery about who would start at center Thursday night for the Mavericks.

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“I’m starting tonight,” Kaman said, “but that’s all I know.”

In other words, Kaman doesn’t know whether he’ll play two minutes or 32 minutes. It’s been that kind of season for the 10-year veteran center who signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the expectation of being a starter.

The 7-foot Kaman, billed as Dallas’ best offensive center during the Dirk Nowitzki era, has started 44 games this season but played sparingly since returning from a concussion six weeks ago. Kaman had played a total of only 12 minutes in the previous four games before getting the start Tuesday night against the Lakers.

With Elton Brand dealing with a sore calf that might sideline him against the Nuggets, the Mavs need Kaman now. Kaman has handled a frustrating season like a pro, preparing to play a significant role even while getting two DNP-CDs in a span of three games last week.

“Obviously, I’m frustrated,” Kaman said. “I probably have said some negative things in practices and stuff like that out loud, just being frustrated. But I’m never going to throw anybody under the bus. I don’t think that’s the way to go. It doesn’t benefit anybody in this situation. It makes me look bad. It makes other people look bad.

“I’d rather just do my job and try to do the best I can do at it.”

Kaman, who is averaging 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game, actually did his job pretty well in Tuesday night’s loss. There were some defensive lapses – a primary factor in his inconsistent playing time – but Kaman scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes. The Mavs lost by 20, but they were outscored by only two points with Kaman on the floor.

“Coming in and signing here, I thought he was going to get a lot more minutes and a bigger role, but I’m proud of him,” said Nowitzki, who has been close to Kaman since the American-born center played a key role in the German national team qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. “These last couple of weeks, he’s just rolled with the punches and worked out. I saw him run on the treadmill every day, just trying to keep in shape, and I think it showed last game in L.A.”

Did that performance earn Kaman more minutes?

“I’ve been very consistent all year on saying that Kaman is a valuable player for us,” Carlisle said. “I like the way he played the other night. You can do the math from there.”

That math often hasn't worked out the way Kaman wants.

"I can take it and go negative with it and flip it around and just be the worst person ever and try to disrespect everybody and try to figure everything out, but that’s just not my style," Kaman said. "I’m frustrated obviously about the situation, but it’s not something that I can control. I just want to continue to try to improve and keep myself in good shape and ready to play, and when I get the opportunities, try to do the best that I can do."

DENVER – Coach Rick Carlisle made a reference to the Mavericks’ youth after Tuesday’s lopsided loss in a must-win game against the Lakers.

“We have some inexperienced guys who haven’t been here before, so this is a valuable learning experience for them,” Carlisle said. “But it has a price.”

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There are two problems with that statement.

The first is that the vast majority of the Mavs are playoff tested. Yes, a pair of 25-year-old guards play major minutes. But Darren Collison has 16 games of playoff experience, having helped the Pacers advance to the second round and put up a fight against the Miami Heat last season. And O.J. Mayo has 20 games of playoff experience, serving as the sixth man on a Memphis team that pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the West semifinals two years ago.

The only Mavs in the rotation who don’t have a healthy dose of playoff experience are rookie Jae Crowder and Brandan Wright, who watched all but 27 minutes in last season’s first-round sweep by OKC.

Crowder played a productive 16 minutes against the Lakers, scoring seven points on 3-of-3 shooting and grabbing three rebounds. Wright (plus-2 in 18 minutes) was the only Mav with a positive plus-minus in that game. In other words, they weren’t the reason the Mavs got blown out in such a big game.

The other issue with the statement is that the Mavs might not benefit from any learning experience for most of their young players. Collison, Mayo and Wright can all be free agents, making them part of the majority on the Mavs’ roster.

It’s highly unlikely that Collison returns to Dallas. He’s made it clear that he considers himself a starting point guard. Carlisle has made it clear that he sees Collison as a backup.

Mayo has a player option for $4.2 million next season, but it’s all but a certainty that he’ll test the market again this summer. What are the Mavs willing to pay to keep Mayo?

The same question applies to Wright, whose recent performances might have put him in position to get an offer similar to the one former Mavs backup center Ian Mahinmi signed with the Pacers (four years, $16 million).

Any growing pains aren’t much of a consolation prize for the Mavs.

DENVER – This is the Dallas Mavericks’ last chance.

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No, not their last chance to make a playoff push. That ship has probably already sailed. It’s certainly far out of the Mavs’ control after Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers dropped the Mavs 2 ½ games behind the two teams they’re chasing for the West’s final playoff seed with only eight games to go.

This is the Mavs’ last chance to record a road win against a team above them in the West standings since Dirk Nowitzki’s return.

If that happens it’d be a mile-high miracle, considering that the Denver Nuggets have the NBA’s best home record at 33-3.

After Thursday night’s game in the Pepsi Center, the Mavs will have only three road games remaining on the schedule, all against sub-.500 teams.

The Mavs have a 14-23 road record, including a 2-13 mark when visiting the plus-.500 teams in the conference. Those two wins came against the Lakers and Houston Rockets early in the season, when Nowitzki was still rehabbing from his right knee scope.

Since Nowitzki’s return, the Mavs are 0-10 on the road against the West’s top nine teams, beginning with a 38-point blowout in San Antonio the night of his surprise debut.

There were also a few coulda, woulda, shoulda L’s in that mix: a three-point loss at Golden State when the Mavs cried foul, firmly believing that Brandan Wright should have gone to the line for the potential go-ahead free throws with seconds remaining; a one-point loss in San Antonio when Vince Carter missed a buzzer-beater; and an overtime loss in Oklahoma City.

But it’s a 100-94 loss in Utah on Jan. 7 and Tuesday night’s rout by the Lakers that stick out in Nowitzki’s mind.

“I actually think that playing Utah only three times this year, playing twice there, hurt us,” Nowitzki said, referring to the unbalanced schedule. “If we would have had two home games against them, we might have won those two, but they’re very good at home so we don’t have the tiebreaker. We needed this one to tie (the season series with the Lakers). We should have beaten them at home. We came up empty twice.

“Saying all that, it doesn’t look good, but we’re going to keep on fighting. This team has a lot of pride left.”

A lot of pride, but precious few chances. This is these Mavs’ last opportunity to pull off a road upset over a West team with Nowitzki on the floor.

If the Mavs manage to pull off the mile-high miracle, their slim playoff hopes will still be alive. If they lose this one, they might as well start booking their late April vacations.

The Dallas Mavericks announced Wednesday that they have signed free-agent guard Josh Akognon to a 10-day contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 5-foot-11 combo guard averaged nearly 30 points per game in China this season and will take the roster spot of Justin Dentmon, who was informed after Tuesday night's loss to the Lakers that he wouldn't be receiving a second 10-day deal.

Akognon spent the 2012 preseason with the Mavs before signing with the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters of the Chinese Basketball Association. In 36 games with the Hunters, he averaged 29 points and 3.1 rebounds in just under 25 minutes per game.

Akognon is expected to join the team in Denver and be available for the game against the Nuggets on April 4.

LOS ANGELES – Coach Rick Carlisle cited “embracing our imperfections” as one of the keys to the Mavericks’ 11-5 March.

Perhaps their biggest flaw bit the Mavs hard as they opened April with a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavs, who rank third to last in the league in rebounding differential, got absolutely dominated on the glass by the longer, more athletic Lakers. L.A. had a 57-37 rebounding edge and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.

“That’s really the game,” Carlisle said. “I know they’re big, but our persistence has to make up for our lack of size.”

That definitely wasn’t the case in Tuesday night’s critical loss. NBA rebounding leader Dwight Howard grabbed a dozen boards in addition to his game-high 24 points, and he was one of four Lakers to post double-doubles. Actually, Kobe Bryant (24-11-11) had a triple-double, with Earl Clark (17-12) and Pau Gasol (14-10) contributing to the Lakers’ paint domination.

“Ain’t no excuses” said Shawn Marion, who led the Mavs with seven rebounds. “If you really want it, you’re going to get it done. All the loose balls went to them. All the 50/50 balls went to them. It’s frustrating, man.”

Added Vince Carter, who grabbed just a lone rebound in 27 minutes: “We had our moments where we just let them take advantage of us.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ crushing loss:

1. Dirk’s dud: Coming off his best week of the season, Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t keep it going against the Lakers.

The Mavs’ superstar was held to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He even looked like Dwight Howard from the free throw line, making only 2-of-6 attempts.

The Lakers simply never let Nowitzki, who had 33- and 35-point performances last week and scored 30 in the Mavs’ last meeting with L.A., establish a rhythm. He was more effective as a distributor (six assists) than a scorer.

“They had long bodies on him. They were physical with him,” Carlisle said. “When we got him a lot of touches, a lot of times he was forced to pass. Unfortunately, we were unable to hit a lot of the shots where he kicked out. Getting him quality shots is always going to be tougher against better teams and experienced teams.”

Added Nowitzki: “I didn’t have a lot of easy ones tonight. I had to work for it. The ones I did have, I’ve just got to knock down.”

2. Kaman’s contributions: Chris Kaman, the 7-footer with the $8 million salary, led the Mavs in scoring with 14 points after making his first start since March 20.

Kaman, who refused to speak to reporters after the game, made 7-of-10 shots from the floor and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes. That came on the heels of playing a total of 12 minutes in the Mavs’ previous four games, including two DNP-CDs.

“I think Kaman is a good player and he’s a guy we need,” Carlisle said. “I thought coming into tonight, our best chance to get something out of him was to start him because he can get open looks, he’s a big body, he can use some of his fouls on Howard early. I thought he did a really solid job out there.”

The Mavs didn’t get much out of their two big men who had been playing the vast majority of the minutes. Brandan Wright and Elton Brand combined for only six points and six rebounds in 30 minutes.

3. Love for Shaq: The Lakers retired Shaquille O’Neal’s number at halftime, giving Mark Cuban an opportunity to reminisce about his days as verbal sparring partner with the legendary big man.

“He was a beast,” Cuban said. “But forget the player. Everybody knows who he was as a player. He's just a great guy. He brought so much fun and attitude and energy to the game. That's what makes Shaq special then and now.

“Plus he was a nice foil. He would come at me and I think when he realized I wouldn't back down from him, that I'd come right back at him, then it got fun for both of us. And we've stayed friends. We're good friends now.”

The Dallas Mavericks, as promised, are bringing in another guard in for a 10-day look as they continue to evaluate backcourt prospects for the future while trying to cling to life in the race for the West's final playoff berth.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Mavs on Thursday will sign Josh Akognon to a 10-day deal. The high-scoring sharpshooter from Cal State Fullerton went to training camp with the Mavs but ended up returning to China to play for Liaoning when he was Dallas' final cut before opening-night rosters were finalized.

Akognon is meeting the team in Colorado, sources said, in advance of the Mavs' game Thursday against the Denver Nuggets. The 5-foot-11 combo guard averaged nearly 30 points per game in China this season and will take the roster spot of Justin Dentmon, who was informed after Tuesday night's loss to the Lakers he wouldn't be receiving a second 10-day deal.

The Mavs, though, had always planned to audition one more guard after previously giving 10-day trials to Dentmon and fellow D-League star Chris Wright.

Dentmon, MVP of the D-League in 2011-12, was called up from the Texas Legends in nearby Frisco and appeared in two Mavs games for a total of four minutes. Dentmon earned call-ups with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors last season.

Wright joined the Mavericks last month from the Iowa Energy and became the first player in league history to appear in the NBA while diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

The Mavs will have three games left in the regular season after Akognon's 10-day contract expires, but it is not yet known if they plan to sign a fourth guard to a 10-day deal before the end of the season.

LOS ANGELES -- Full of optimism after Saturday’s phenomenal comeback win, Dirk Nowitzki compared that stunning rally against the Chicago Bulls to the story of the Mavericks’ season.

Just when you think you can count them out ...

Unfortunately, Nowitzki’s comparison was probably a few days premature. Their 101-81 loss in Tuesday night’s critical game against the Los Angeles Lakers truly sums up the Mavs this season:

They manage to beat the odds by making things interesting, but this patchwork roster is just not good enough to get the job done.

Maybe you can’t count the Mavs out quite yet, but the math sure as heck looks hellacious as far as their playoff hopes go. They now trail the Lakers and Utah Jazz by 2½ games and don’t have tiebreakers against either of their competitors in a three-team fight for the West’s final playoff seed.

“We knew we were behind the eight ball all season,” said Nowitzki, whose bushy beard will keep growing after the 36-38 Mavs failed to seize an opportunity to hit .500 again. “We were battling, battling back. To think we were going to win them all down the stretch is tough, but this is a game we needed to have if we really wanted to make it interesting.”

For a few moments in the third quarter, it appeared that the Mavs might pull off another comeback, kind of like Game 1 in the 2011 West semifinals, a shocker that set the tone for that Dallas team of destiny’s sweep of the two-time defending champion Lakers and title run.

Alas, fate doesn’t smile on a team this flawed.

It took one possession for the Mavs’ momentum to disintegrate after they went on an 11-0 run to trim L.A.’s lead to five. Lakers reserve forward Earl Clark scored five points in the possession after a timeout, making a layup despite being fouled, missing the free throw and canning a corner 3 after Pau Gasol pulled down one of the Lakers’ 19 offensive rebounds.

“We never could get back over the hump,” said Shawn Marion, who joins Nowitzki as the lone Mavs on the active roster who remain from the title team.

We never could get back over the hump. That sentence seems destined to sum up this disappointing Dallas season, which will snap a dozen-year postseason streak for the Mavs, barring a miracle.

The Mavs, a team comprised primarily of temporary pieces, surprised a lot of people just by having hope as the calendar flipped to April. After all, it’s been 16 years since a team battled back from 10 games below .500 to punch a postseason ticket.

It’ll be at least one more year before that happens again, barring a miracle.

The Mavs landed in L.A. with legitimate hope. They boarded their flight to Denver, the toughest place in the West for NBA visitors, with the baggage of harsh reality after being thoroughly dominated on the boards (57-37 Lakers edge), struggling to get good shots (42.0 field goal percentage) and allowing Kobe Bryant to post a triple-double (23 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and three other Lakers to record double-doubles.

“We have to win out,” Vince Carter said, “and hope that it’s good enough.”

The Mavs will keep hoping to get over the hump, but it looks more like a mountain after losing to the Lakers.