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Contract disputes are about money. The person seeking the contract always wants more than the person handing out the contract wants to give.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle might not yet describe this lingering contract situation as a dispute, but the bottom line is that Carlisle has yet to ink a new deal. Neither side is talking about it, so it can only be assumed that money is a central issue.

Carlisle earned $4.5 million in the fourth and final year of his contract this past season. That ranked him seventh at the start of the season, according to Forbes, among the league's highest-paid coaches. Three of the top six on the list didn't make it out of the season. Mike D'Antonio ($6 million, tied with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich for second) resigned from the New York Knicks, Nate McMillan ($5.5 million, fourth) was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers and Flip Saunders ($4.8 million, sixth) was fired by the Washington Wizards.

According to Forbes, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is the highest-paid coach in the NBA, earning $7 million this season. He's in his 13th season as a head coach and eighth with the Celtics, who hold a 1-0 lead on the Philadelphia 76ers in the East semifinals. Rivers and the Celtics won the 2008 championship and returned to the Finals in 2010, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

Is Carlisle looking for Rivers-type money? Or perhaps the $6 million that Popovich, a four-time championship coach, is pocketing this season? The NBA's Coach of the Year has the Spurs in the West semifinals on the heels of a first-round sweep.

In Carlisle's third season in Dallas, he molded a group of title-less veterans into unexpected champions, providing Cuban and the franchise with its first title. While the Miami Heat, the team the Mavs dispatched in the NBA Finals in six games, rewarded coach Erik Spoelstra with an extension in December prior to the start of the season, Carlisle's reward never came.

Cuban dismantled the title team and the season was a struggle from start to finish. Dallas ended it 36-30 in the regular season and then was swept out of the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder under coach Scott Brooks, who is also coming to the end of his contract and will command a bigger payday.

Cuban claims it's simply not his business style to grant extensions (the 2006 extension he gave Avery Johnson backfired). But now that the season is over and still no deal exists, it figures that either the two sides are negotiating a workable salary or that Carlisle, who would be a hot commodity as a free agent, is keeping his options open.

After all, the Mavs' future, in terms of its roster as Dirk Nowitzki turns 34 in June, is as unsettled as ever in Cuban's dozen years as owner.

Game No. 66 will take a bit of time to get here. After 65 games in a rapid-fire schedule that clustered games in a seemingly impossible amount of time, the Dallas Mavericks will take this week to rest, practice and watch the standings.

The season finale will come Thursday night at the Atlanta Hawks, who are in position for home-court advantage in the first round against the Boston Celtics. Depending on which team the Mavs draw in the first round -- and they might not know before heading into this game -- they might not be coming home for a while.

It is possible that Dallas could face a cross-country trek to Los Angeles to face either the Lakers or Clippers when the playoffs start this weekend. Or perhaps the Mavs would make a pit stop home if the series opens in Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

All the Mavs know now is that they are in the unusual situation of sitting back with four days to rest, practice and watch the standings.

"We're going to mix in some rest and we're going to mix in work and we've got to have a plan going forward as to how we want to proceed for the last game and on into the playoffs and we'll do that," coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm not going to get into the specifics of it because right now that's not the appropriate thing to do. But it's something we've had a long time to think about and in conjunction with my trainer and my coaches we'll figure out the best thing."

It's quite possible that Jason Kidd has played his last regular-season game. Dirk Nowitzki said if he has any say in things that he wants to play Thursday. Jason Terry, who sat out Saturday's loss at Chicago, said he plans to play in front of plenty of friends when Dallas takes on his former team.

Thursday: at Atlanta Hawks (38-26), 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Hawks enter the week with two games remaining and both are at home with the Los Angeles Clippers coming in on Tuesday night. Atlanta is in position to have home-court advantage against the Boston Celtics in the first round, so this game might not mean much for either squad. If the Mavs don't know their playoff foe after Wednesday's games, don't expect Carlisle to coach the game to try to manipulate a matchup. He'll continue to coach with the goal of having his team properly prepared to begin its title defense over the weekend.

DALLAS -- After another low-percentage shooting night from Lamar Odom, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said it's time to stop expecting the sensational from the 6-10 forward and to start understanding the nuance with which he plays.

Carlisle said Odom's performances over the last 15 games have been more consistent and are trending upward, and he believes Odom will continue to improve now that he is in more ideal playing shape, as well as coming to grips with a role that requires fewer minutes than he is accustomed, fewer minutes at power forward than he would prefer and typically a seat on the bench at closing time.

"I would love for Lamar to be the kind of high-impact player that he is supposedly advertised as being. But the truth is, he has been a consistent player," Carlisle said after Odom went 2-of-8 for four points in the Mavs' runaway, 89-73 win against the massively undermanned Boston Celtics. "His stats have been very consistent and based on his per-36 minutes-a-game stats, his last 15 games are right pretty much on par with his career. And so I think we’re really looking for spectacular things from him on a night-in, night-out basis; that’s not who he is.

"He’s a knowledgeable, a terrific all-around player who’s a great rebounder and a guy that has a special knack for putting the ball on the floor and making plays."

Odom is averaging just 21.5 minutes a game with Dallas. That's nearly 14 fewer minutes than his career average, so his numbers across the board are going to be down. However, there's no escaping the fact that Odom's shooting percentages, based on his career marks, have been dramatically depressed throughout the first half of the season -- 36.1 percent from floor, 27.5 percent from 3-point range and 57.7 percent from the free throw line.

He has had better games in recent weeks, flashes of the player the Mavs -- or at least their fans -- thought they were getting. But, back-to-back clunkers, 3-of-14 shooting, in the last two games has dropped his scoring average below 8.0 points a game, sixth-best on the team.

"His field-goal percentage is down, but if you go back and look at it the last 15 games since he’s really gotten into shape, my bet would be that it’s significantly higher than that," Carlisle said. "I’m basing what I’m saying on the last 15 games because, look, his summer was rough, he wasn’t in shape when he got here, all that’s been documented. What I can talk to you about is what I’ve seen and I saw the first 15 games and I’ve seen the last 16 or whatever it’s been, and there’s been marked improvement.

"But, if we’re looking for a guy that’s going to dazzle on a night-in, night-out basis with gaudy stats and a bunch of fancy stuff, that’s not who he is as a player and that’s not who he’s been as a player."

In Odom's last 16 games, including Monday's, he is 51-of-135 from the field for 37.8 percent, still no great shakes.

"Make shots," Odom said, a simple, but accurate answer to how he can improve his shooting percentage. "Just keep taking them. Can’t make them if you don’t take them. We’re winning ballgames in the meantime, so I just keep at it, try to add to the chemistry of the team, add to the depth."

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki now ranks 20th in NBA history in scoring and unofficially holds the league record for honesty.

How many legends months removed from carrying their team to a championship would openly admit that their performance hadn’t merited an invitation to the All-Star Game?

Dirk did just that in advance of the votes being submitted for All-Star reserves. The Western Conference coaches opted to ignore him, awarding Nowitzki his 11th consecutive All-Star appearance despite his struggles in the first third of the season.

There should be no more questions about whether Nowitzki’s trip to Orlando this weekend is justified, and that has nothing to do with a lifetime achievement award. Just look at his production the last 10 games, when he’s averaged 25.4 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor.

Any doubt about whether Dirk belongs among the West’s best dozen players? Didn’t think so.

“I think everybody knows if I would have been healthy all year, it would have been a lock,” Nowitzki said after his 26-point, 16-rebound performance in Monday night’s blowout of the beat-up Boston Celtics.

Hey, it ain’t bragging if it’s true.

“But I wasn’t [healthy],” Nowitzki continued. “If you judge it by first third of the season, whatever they judged it on, I still say there were some guys that deserved it over me, but it is what it is. The coaches showed me a lot of respect.”

Nowitzki, who passed Robert Parish for 20th on the all-time scoring list in the first quarter, earned that respect over the last 13 years.

There’s never been a 7-footer with his skill set. He started with one of the sweetest jumpers in the league and developed an arsenal that includes a quality post-up game and dangerous off-the-dribble attack, both featuring variations of a one-legged leanaway that is the most uniquely unblockable shot since Kareem’s sky hook.

There’s never been an NBA superstar whose toughness has been so readily dismissed. So many soft-Euro stereotypes were shattered during the Mavs’ championship run, when the world finally began to understand and appreciate that a finesse game and intense competitive fire aren’t mutually exclusive.

That skill set and that toughness isn’t diminishing any time soon. Despite what you might have heard from Charles Barkley, one of few power forwards in NBA history who can claim to be in Dirk’s class, Father Time has no better chance of stopping No. 41 this season than Chris Wilcox and Jermaine O’Neal did Monday night.

“It’s hard to be great in June and then in December, your career is over,” Mavs big man Brendan Haywood said. “In June, you’re the greatest player on the planet! In December, your career is over! That’s laughable.”

It’s something Nowitzki can laugh about now that he’s got his game back.

“I’m just getting warmed up,” the 33-year-old Nowitzki said, flashing a grin. “No, I knew eventually once the swelling in my knee went down and I started feeling better that I can still play on a high level. I was just struggling physically the first month or so with the short camp, but I had confidence that eventually, once my leg strength came back, I can still compete at a high level. I think I’ve still got that in my tank for hopefully the next two years and then we can go from there.”

His immediate focus, of course, is on finishing this season strong. He has reason to believe that the Mavs, who are 21-12 at the midway point despite a slow start, are a legitimate threat to repeat.

There’s no question in Nowitzki’s mind that he’s back to being the kind of player that can put a team on his back during a playoff run.

“Once I get my game back, I can attack off the dribble, post, do all those things,” Nowitzki said, recapping what’s happened over the last few weeks, “I think there’s not a lot of power forwards in this league who are better than me.”

That’s an honest statement from Dirk, and it’s about as close to boasting as he’ll ever come.

It could also be considered humble.

The whole truth is that there aren’t a lot of power forwards in NBA history better than him. And there aren't a lot of players in this league, period, who are better.

There were none last summer, and at the halfway point of this season, it suddenly doesn't look like a lot has changed.

How it happened: The Dallas defense bounced back from a rare poor performance by shutting down a Boston team that is bad offensively even with Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett.

With Rondo and Garnett unavailable, this was an easy win for the Mavericks over the Celtics, who have lost six of their last seven games.

The Mavs got another dominant performance from Dirk Nowitzki (26 points, 16 rebounds) and a nice night from Jason Terry (16 points, 6-11 FG) and didn’t need much else from an offensive standpoint.

The Mavs, whose 10-game streak of holding opponents to less than 100 points was snapped in Sunday’s loss to the New York Knicks, smothered the Celtics defensively for the first three quarters. Boston had 53 points and 14 turnovers entering the fourth quarter, which was essentially all garbage time.

What it means: The Mavs beat up Boston’s B team. It’s Dallas’ seventh win in eight games, but it’s difficult to give a win over the Celtics any grand meaning when Garnett and Rondo aren’t even in the building.

Play of the game: If there’s such a thing as a dagger early in the third quarter, Dirk’s uncontested 3-pointer from the right wing qualifies. Jason Kidd fired a cross-court out-of-bounds pass to Nowitzki, whom the Celtics somehow neglected to cover. Nowitzki took a dribble, measured the shot and knocked it down to give the Mavs an 18-point lead with a few minutes into the second half.

Stat of the night: Nowitzki and Paul Pierce, the man picked immediately after Dirk in the 1998 draft, were polar opposites in the plus-minus category. Nowitzki was plus-27, Pierce minus-27.

DALLAS -- This is really just unfair. The Celtics have lost two more players, Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Wilcox, to injury as the Mavs continued to ramp up the lead.

Dirk Nowitzki has a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. Shawn Marion, who ended the quarter with a sweet reverse tip-in, has 11 points, as does Jason Terry.

The Celtics are being led by Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, both of whom have 15 points. Boston has not scored more than 19 points in any quarter.

DALLAS -- The severely undermanned Boston Celtics managed to stay in it early by doing what they do best -- not allowing many points. They don't score many either and with playmaker extraordinaire Rajon Rondo suspended, don't expect a lot of points.

Dirk Nowitzki has seven points and that vaulted him to No. 20 on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He also recorded his 1,000th career block.

The Celtics went 6-of-20 from the field, just better than Dallas' 9-of-24.

Brendan Haywood and Dominique Jones each have four points. Paul Pierce and Texas-ex Avery Bradley both have six points.

The Boston Celtics will likely be without two starters for tonight's game against the Mavericks. The league announced a two-game suspension for starting point guard Rajon Rondo for his actions Sunday night in a loss at Detroit.

Rondo, who will miss tonight's game and Wednesday's at Oklahoma City, was hit with two technical fouls within five seconds and ejected. Rondo threw the ball at an official and struck him in the chest.

Garnett is not likely to play due to personal reasons. Also, backup power forward Brandon Bass has been nursing an injury.

The Celtics (15-15) have lost three games in a row and five of six.

With his next steal, and that figures to come at some point in tonight's game against the Boston Celtics, Jason Kidd will pass Michael Jordan and take over sole possession of second place on the NBA's all-time steals list.

Kidd has had at least one steal in each of the last eight games he's played (excluding the Jan. 27 game when he injured his right calf and left after just two minutes). In the last three games, Kidd has eight steals, including three Sunday in the loss to the Knicks, tying him with Jordan with 2,514 career steals.

So many of Kidd's thefts are a result of pure anticipation and pure instinct, understanding where an opposing player wants to go with the basketball and then almost ambushing the play.

"Jason reminds me of Larry Bird that way," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "He has a unique anticipation, it’s almost savant-like. He kind of senses things before they happen, I mean he senses when a guy’s going to throw the ball into the post before the guy even knows he’s going to throw the ball into the post. And then Jason, he gets around and is able to knock it away and goes the other way. Bird was the same way, so he’s an all-time great, one of the best ever."

Dirk Nowitzki could reach two milestones tonight:

* He needs just seven points to pass Celtics great Robert Parish and claiming No. 20 on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Nowitzki's season-high 34 points on Sunday gives him 23,328 career points.

* He also still needs one block to reach 1,000 for his career.

The Mavericks had their six-game winning streak snapped in a Sunday matinee at Madison Square Garden. The Boston Celtics arrived in Dallas with much bigger problems.

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Chuck Cooperstein recaps the Mavericks' weekend, including their trip to NY against Jeremy Lin. Listen

The Celtics have been contenders ever since they pulled off deals to acquire Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, but Boston looks more like a lottery team right now.

Actually, the lack of depth in the Eastern Conference essentially assures the .500 Celtics a playoff berth, but it’ll be a brief postseason in Boston unless things get much better. The Celtics have lost five of their last six games, including two double-digit losses to the 11-22 Detroit Pistons and one to the 9-23 Toronto Raptors.

The Mavs, the NBA’s oldest team, are a surprising 7-3 in the butt end of back-to-back games this season. That record should improve Monday night, despite the familiar, respected name of the foe.

Records: Mavs (20-12); Celtics (15-15)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: American Airlines Center

TV: TNT

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: Will the Dallas defense bounce back after one of its worst performances of the season? Boston, even with Rajon Rondo and three 20,000-plus-point career scorers, have been a poor offensive team this season. They rank 26th in the NBA in scoring at 89.5 points per game. The Celtics are 2-13 in games in which they fail to score at least 90 points. Rondo could present problems for Shawn Marion and the Mavs, whose remarkable run of defending quality point guards came to a halt with Jeremy Lin’s 28-point, 14-assist performance Sunday in Madison Square Garden. However, there’s a chance that the NBA office could lock down Rondo, who might face a suspension after being ejected for tossing a ball at a referee during the Celtics’ Sunday loss to the Pistons.

Key matchup: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Boston power forwards: Nowitzki has traditionally torched the Celtics no matter who Boston uses to defend him. He has a career average of 27.0 points per game against the Celtics, his highest against any team. Boston might have to start third-stringer Chris Wilcox, as Kevin Garnett is dealing with personal issues that caused him to miss Sunday’s loss in Detroit and Brandon Bass has a sore left knee. Nowitzki, who blew by Garnett for a game-winning and-1 layup in the Mavs’ victory in Boston earlier this season, enters the game in a pretty good groove even by his Hall of Fame standards. He has 58 points on 19-of-31 shooting in the last six quarters.

Injuries: Mavs – G Delonte West (fractured right ring finger) is out; G Rodrigue Beaubois (personal reasons) is out. Celtics – PF Brandon Bass (knee) is questionable; PF Kevin Garnett (personal reasons) is questionable.

Up next: Los Angeles Lakers at Mavs, 8:30 p.m., Wednesday

Standing in the quiet Dallas Mavericks locker room Sunday at Madison Square Garden, Shawn Marion, tugging on his designer jeans after a long day chasing Jeremy Lin, was reminded that in about 24 hours he'd be at the American Airlines Center warming up for tonight's game against the Boston Celtics.

"Whew," was about all Marion could muster with a shake of the head and a quick rise of the eyebrows.

After weeks of playing four, five and six games a week, to say the Mavs are looking forward to the All-Star break come Thursday is a vast understatement. Only Dirk Nowitzki will be headed to All-Star Weekend in Orlando as a participant, a reserve for the 11th consecutive time for the West squad. Jason Terry will be there doing work with Reebok.

Otherwise, this squad, the oldest in the league, will take a break on Thursday and won't return until Monday. They won't play again until Tuesday when a point guard named Deron Williams comes to town with Avery Johnson and the woebegone New Jersey Nets.

But, first there's a little business to take care of against the Celtics tonight and Kobe Bryant and those Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

"That's how we like it, we like it tough," Terry said. "These are the type of games you love -- New York, Boston, L.A. What more can you ask for?"

Tonight: vs. Boston Celtics (15-15), 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: TNT/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Celtics enter this one in desperation mode as losers of three in a row. They fell to .500 Sunday and 4-7 on the road with a 96-81 wipeout at the hands of the suddenly hot Detroit Pistons. The Celtics could be rather shorthanded as well with former Mavs forward Brandon Bass nursing a sore left knee, Kevin Garnett's status uncertain due to personal reasons and point guard Rajon Rondo awaiting word from the league on a possible suspension after being ejected against the Pistons. The Mavs will be looking to close out their nine-game run with bounce-back game after falling to the Knicks Sunday afternoon. They beat the Celtics in Boston, 90-85.

Wednesday: vs. Los Angeles Lakers (18-13), 8:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Lakers don't win much on the road, just five times in 16 games, including a 102-90 spanking at Phoenix on Sunday. L.A. will play Portland on Monday before traveling east for a back-to-back at Dallas and Oklahoma City. Last month, Dallas lost a tough, ugly one in L.A. on a Derek Fisher 3-pointer in the final seconds for a 73-70 win. Maybe Dallas can take advantage of a fatigued team. Where the Mavs have concentrated on keeping their stars' minutes, down, Kobe, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum rank near the top of the league in minutes played. Kobe is averaging more than 38 minutes and Gasol is at 37. A victory over the Lakers would send the Mavs into the All-Star break having to feel pretty good about the first half of the season and looking forward to a second half that becomes road-heavy entering March.

Rick Carlisle has had a knack for timely ejections in leading the Dallas Mavericks and Wednesday's early third-quarter hysterics proved to be a game-changer.

Carlisle had seen enough of Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett climbing all over his superstar Dirk Nowitzki without a whistle, so when it happened again less than two minutes into the third quarter, a furious Carlisle stomped all the way down court until he was practically standing in front of the Celtics' bench.

Waving and pointing and shouting at second-year referee Josh Tiven, Carlisle had to be restrained, almost unsuccessfully, by assistant coach Terry Stotts. Tiven fired back with with consecutive technical fouls to give Carlisle the early exit. At the time, Dallas had let a lead slip away and Boston was up three and then five after the technical free throws were good.

"It's my opinion, but Kevin Garnett shouldn't be allowed to bear hug Dirk coming off the screen," Carlisle said after the 90-85 victory, the Mavs' third in a row to run their record to 6-5 and over .500 for the first time this season. "I wanted to make my point. If it costs me a few dollars so be it."

Once Carlisle made his way to the locker room, energy returned to the wilting Mavs. They went on a 24-6 run and turned a five-point deficit into a 66-53 lead.

Boston would rally and tie it on a late Paul Pierce 3-pointer, but Dirk Nowitzki, who had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, had the last laugh on Garnett by getting around him and converting a difficult drive and foul for a three-point play the old-fashioned way with about five second to go.

"It's a fun situation to be in," Nowitzki said of the game-winning possession. "Everybody's looking at you and your team really depends on you, so I like to be in the position where I can make something happen."

Credit Carlisle with the assist.

How it happened: After struggling most of the night, Dirk Nowitzki delivered when it mattered most.

The Dallas Mavericks had allowed a 13-point second-half lead to melt away when Nowitzki got the ball with about 10 seconds to go at the 3-point line, just right of the top of the arc. After facing up against Kevin Garnett's physical defense, Nowitzki drove hard to his right and went right to the rack, making an and-1 layup despite being knocked down by Brandon Bass and Garnett.

He made the free throw, giving the Mavs a three-point lead and Nowitzki 16 points on the night.

That, along with some stingy defense in the final seconds, prevented the Boston Celtics from pulling off a comeback.

If coach Rick Carlisle meant to spark the Mavs with his rant at the referees, his plan worked well.

Carlisle marched all the way in front of the Celtics’ bench to protest Garnett’s physical defense on Nowitzki, promptly drawing a pair of technical fouls to earn an early exit. That occurred early in the third quarter, when the Celtics had seized momentum and the lead.

The Mavs responded with a 24-6 run to build a lead that swelled to as large as 13 points. The Celtics battled back to pull even a few times in the fourth quarter, but the Mavs never trailed again, pulling out a pretty ugly win in the final minute.

What it means: The Mavs left Dallas without a road win this season and return home with a couple after back-to-back victories at Detroit and Boston. This could be the beginning of the Mavs, who had the NBA’s best road record the last two seasons, re-establishing themselves as a beast away from the AAC. It also pushed the defending NBA champions above .500 (6-5) for the first time this season.

Play of the game: The Finals MVP had an and-1 game winner. What more do you want?

Stat of the night: The Mavs shot only 14-of-25 on free throws. Centers Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi combined to go 2-of-10 during otherwise solid performances.

BOSTON -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was tossed from Wednesday's game after rushing past midcourt early in the second half to vehemently protest a lack of a foul call on the Boston Celtics.

Carlisle clutched at his wrist and seemed to be motioning as if to suggest that Kevin Garnett should have been whistled for holding Dirk Nowitzki as the Mavericks tried to set up their offense.

An enraged Carlisle raced past halfcourt until he was practically next to the Celtics' bench before referees gave him a pair of technical fouls, leading to his ejection.

Boston led 45-42 with 10:33 to play in the third quarter at the time of Carlisle's disqualification. Ray Allen made both technical free throws to push that lead to five.

Carlisle is the second visiting coach to be tossed this season after Wizards coach Flip Saunders got ejected just 1:44 into a game last week.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a game this season that includes so many of the league's all-time scorers on one floor. In tonight's game between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics, features five of the top seven active scorers in the NBA – Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Vince Carter.

Here's a look at where they rank among active players and their career points:

1. Kobe Bryant - 28,192

2. Kevin Garnett - 23,426

3. Dirk Nowitzki - 22,981

4. Ray Allen - 22,429

5. Tim Duncan - 21,781

6. Paul Pierce - 21,486

7. Vince Carter - 20,611