How it happened: Jason Terry’s temper tantrum was the turning point in the game.

The Mavs were miserable before Terry had heated words with teammate J.J. Barea and coach Rick Carlisle during a timeout early in the second quarter. Dallas dominated the rest of the game -- with the exception of one L.A. spurt late in the third quarter – while Terry sat and watched.

The Clippers had a 39-25 lead when Terry, whose struggles continued with a scoreless eight-minute stint, got kicked out of the huddle and had to be restrained by assistant coaches. Terry made his way to the end of the bench where owner Mark Cuban quickly met him and tried to cool Terry down. The score the remainder of the game: Mavs 82, Clippers 57.

Dallas’ defense turned from dreadful to dominant. The first quarter was a 35-point dunk contest for the Clippers, but L.A. totaled over 40 points over the next 24 minutes as the Mavs rallied to take the lead.

The Mavs busted out of their offensive funk by scoring 88 points in the last three quarters. It was only their second 100-point performance in the last eight games, with the other also coming against the Clippers.

Six Mavs finished in double figures: Dirk Nowitzki (20 points), Corey Brewer (20), J.J. Barea (15), Tyson Chandler (15), Shawn Marion (13) and Peja Stojakovic (10).

All of Stojakovic’s points came in the fourth quarter, perhaps proving that the Mavs have a player other than Terry capable of being a complementary closer for Nowitzki.

What it means: The Mavs snapped a four-game losing streak and are still clinging to the Western Conference’s third seed. A loss would have pulled Oklahoma City even with the Mavs, and the Thunder would have the tiebreaker as a division champion.

Play of the game: The Clippers had killed all the Mavs momentum with a 13-1 run to pull even in the final minute of the third quarter. Tyson Chandler’s tip-in at the buzzer gave the Mavs the lead and a big emotional boost, getting the crowed back into the game.

Stat of the night: Corey Brewer scored a total of 25 points in his first month with the Mavs. He has 33 in the last two games, including 18 as a starter against the Clippers. Brewer's scoring is considered a bonus. His energy is what really gets the coaching staff's attention. He appears to be carving out a playoff for the playoffs after a long stretch of inactive games.