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The Mavs’ front office doesn’t believe that Tyson Chandler would have made that much of a difference in Dallas this season.

So it’s safe to assume that Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson aren’t kicking themselves for letting Corey Brewer go for essentially nothing.

Still … it was impossible to watch the skinny swingman light up the Lakers last night and not think that the Mavs could use that kind of youth, athleticism and energy on their roster.

Brewer’s shining moment during his brief time with the Mavericks was sparking a comeback from a 16-point deficit at the Staples Center in Game 1 of the West semifinals sweep of the Lakers. He was even better in Thursday’s Game 6, scoring 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting while playing his typical tenacious defense during 19 minutes in the Nuggets’ series-tying win.

Dallas shipped Brewer to Denver along with Rudy Fernandez, who never reported to the Mavericks, in December, getting a 2016 second-round pick in return. It was a classic salary dump after the Mavs deemed the young wings expendable after signing Vince Carter and trading for Lamar Odom.

The Mavs rid themselves of a malcontent in Fernandez. They got rid of a good guy in Brewer.

But dumping Brewer was all about the money. He had a $3,059,000 salary this season, which would have been doubled for Cuban due to the luxury tax. Brewer is due $3,243,000 next season -- not a bad price at all for a rotation player, but a ton to pay a benchwarmer.

The Mavs believed Brewer would have been a benchwarmer in Dallas. The Nuggets found a niche for him, and he’s earning his money in the playoffs again.

J.J. Barea played a massive role as a young point guard in bringing the Dallas Mavericks their first championship in 31 years. As one of the senior-most veterans on a spiraling Minnesota Timberwolves team, Barea on Sunday night had all he could handle of losing.

After a 93-88 home loss to the rookie-laden Golden State Warriors, the Wolves' 12th loss in 13 games in this once promising season, the 5-foot-10 Barea, who played his tail off for the full 48 minutes, went off.

"We've got problems here," Barea told reporters. "We just got a lot of guys that don't care. When a basketball team got a bunch of players that don't care, it's tough to win games. It's going to happen until we get players in that care: care about winning, care about the team, care about the fans."

Barea, the only healthy point guard left on the team that was also without Kevin Love (concussion), had 14 points and 12 assists. He didn't shoot great, just 5-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-9 from 3-point range, but effort is never an issue with the hard-driving Barea, now in his sixth NBA season. According to reports, Barea's tongue-lashing went down in front of his locker and within earshot of teammates.

"They just come in here after the game like nothing happened," Barea said. "That's what happens to a losing team. ... There's a bunch of us, too, that care and play hard. "But there's a bunch that don't care, and we just got to change that. I've been noticing it. But today you can really notice it. It was a brutal second half. Nobody fighting, nobody getting mad at nobody. After a game like that you got to have problems. You got to argue with your teammates. But nobody cares so we've got to change that."

The Wolves have one game left and it will help decide Barea's former team's first-round playoff opponent. Minnesota plays host to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night as the Mavs will be wrapping up their season at the Atlanta Hawks. The Mavs and Nuggets are battling for the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds.

The results of those two games will decide the playoff pairings.

We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: The Mavs and Nuggets are both 11 ½ games behind the top-seeded Spurs, but Denver is in control of its destiny when it comes to securing the sixth seed. The Nuggets (35-28) have one fewer loss than the Mavs (36-29) and are a couple of percentage points ahead in the standings. The Mavs own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, whose three remaining games are at home against the Magic and on the road against the Thunder and Timberwolves.

SATURDAY'S GAMES
Nuggets 118, Suns 107: Ty Lawson had 29 points and 10 assists as Denver clinched a playoff spot.

Bulls 93, Mavs 83: The Mavs put up a decent fight against the East’s first-place team despite Jason Kidd and Jason Terry sitting out to rest.

Rockets 99, Warriors 96: Houston snapped a six-game losing streak and kept its slim playoff hopes alive.

Grizzlies 93, Trail Blazers 89: The Grizzlies almost let a 12-point lead slip away in the last four minutes, but Memphis held on for its 14th win in 18 games to pull within a half-game of the Clippers for the fourth seed.

Jazz 117, Magic 107 (OT): Devin Harris scored 21 points, including a dagger 3-pointer in overtime, as the Jazz seized control of the fight for the West’s final playoff seed.

TODAY’S GAMES
Thunder at Lakers
Rockets at Heat
Cavaliers at Spurs
Magic at Nuggets
Hornets at Clippers

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

UPDATED: 9 a.m., Friday.

The Dallas Mavericks clinched a playoff berth Thursday with New Orleans' win over Houston. Now attention turns strictly to seeding and matchups.

With the Mavs (35-28) -- back in action tonight for their home finale against the Golden State Warriors -- and Denver Nuggets (34-28) in a virtual dead heat in the Western Conference standings and both teams now two games ahead of the trailing Utah Jazz (33-30) and Phoenix Suns (33-30) in the loss column, the jockeying between the two is coming down to the sixth and seventh seeds.

Which would the Mavs prefer? As the seventh seed the Mavs know their travel will be light to play the No. 2 seed. They'd start the playoffs either north of the Red River at the Oklahoma City Thunder or on the River Walk at the San Antonio Spurs. The sixth seed will face the No. 3 seed and likely head to Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant's Lakers. Chris Paul's Clippers lost Thursday at Phoenix, a hit to their chances of moving up and Memphis remains a long shot.

"It doesn’t matter at all," Jason Terry said of which seed the Mavs finish. "We've just got to get in. One more game and we solidify one of those three spots and and we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a helluva playoffs. If I'm a fan I'm sitting here waiting. I can’t wait for the next week and a half to be up."

Jet can just about forget about the eighth seed. The Mavs hold the tiebreaker on the Nuggets, Jazz and Suns.

So which team, the Mavs or Nuggets, hold the upper hand to finish in sixth? Well, it depends just as much on how those two teams approach their final games after playoff berths are locked up as it does on their opponents' approach.

For instance, the Mavs could face a Chicago Bulls team Saturday night intent on finishing with the best record in the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks on Thursday could still be dueling with the Boston Celtics and/or Orlando Magic for the No. 4 seed and homecourt in the first round.

Here's the breakdown of schedules for the Mavs and Nuggets:

Mavs (winning percentage of opponents: .573)
Fri: vs. Golden State (22-39)
Sat: at Chicago (47-15)
April 26: at Atlanta (37-25)

Nuggets (winning percentage of opponents:.554)
Sat: at Phoenix (32-30)
Sun: vs. Orlando (36-26)
Wed: at Oklahoma City (45-17)
April 26: at Minnesota (25-38)

We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: The Mavs slipped to seventh place, a half game behind the Nuggets. The Rockets and Suns are a game and a half behind the Mavs, and Utah is two games behind Dallas.

MONDAY'S GAMES

Jazz 123, Mavs 121 (3 OT): Dallas missed a chance to throw a knockout punch to the Jazz’s playoff hopes, running up the Mavs core players’ minutes in the process.

Spurs 120, Warriors 99: San Antonio cruised to a win over Golden State’s summer league squad to take over the West's top spot.

Clippers 92, Thunder 77: The Thunder fell out of first place after managing to score only 25 points in the second half.

Nuggets 105, Rockets 102: Arron Afflalo scored 26 points to lead the Nuggets to their fourth win in five games.

Suns 125, Trail Blazers 107: The Suns shot 60 percent and had six players score in double figures to move into the eighth seed.

TODAY’S GAMES
Grizzlies at Timberwolves
Spurs at Lakers

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

We take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: Denver's blowout win against Golden State puts them in a dead heat with the Mavs for the seventh spot -- of course, Dallas holds the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series. Both teams are now a full game back of the red-hot Rockets, who won their fourth in a row at Portland.

MONDAY'S GAMES
Lakers 93, Hornets 91: The Kobe-less Lakers bounced back, barely, from getting drilled in Phoenix. Pau Gasol had 25 points and nine rebounds and Ramon Sessions had 17 points and six assists. His 3-pointer put the Lakers up by six with 26 seconds left.

Thunder 109, Bucks 89: Oklahoma City moved back into the top spot in the West on a rare night in which five players scored in double figures. Thabo Sefolosha (14) and Serge Ibaka (13) joined regulars Russell Westbrook (26), Kevin Durant (19) and James Harden (16).

Jazz 91, Spurs 84: Gregg Popovich gave Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker the night off with an eye toward the upcoming back-to-back against the Lakers and Grizzlies (Wednesday and Thursday). The Jazz are limping with Earl Watson (knee) out indefinitely and C.J. Miles (calf) injured.

Grizzlies 94, Clippers 85: Memphis is making a hard push for a first-round playoff series on its home floor. The Grizz moved one-half game behind the Clips for the fourth seed. L.A. plays seven of hits final 10 games on the road. The Grizz have six of 10 at home.

Nuggets 123, Warriors 84: Denver got a boost from the return of Dino Gallinari, who busted his thumb the last time Dallas came through town on March 19. He had 15 points, six assists and five boards in 30 minutes.

Suns 114, Timberwolves 90: Steve Nash kept the heat on his former team to beat the Kings tonight. The Suns notched their 30th victory and can tie Dallas in the loss column if the Mavs fail to take care of their business.

Rockets 94, Blazers 89: Houston is happy to have Kyle Lowry back in the lineup. He came off the bench and provided 13 points (5-of-6 FGs), four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 23 minutes.

TODAY’S GAMES
Kings at Mavs

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Spurs

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks have nine games left in the regular season. The next one is Tuesday at home against the Sacramento Kings.

"Huge game for us," guard Jason Terry said. "There’s no bigger game for us this season."

Entering Monday's games, five teams -- Houston, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix and Utah -- are separated by 2 1/2 games and in contention for the final three playoffs spots in the Western Conference. The Mavs hold the tiebreaker against all of them, but they'll still have to take care of their own business with six of nine games on the road during this final kick.

There are multiple times during the final 18 days of the regular season when the five contenders play one another. The standings are bound to change from game to game and final seeding might come down to April 26, the final night of this 66-game regular season.

Here's a look at the remaining schedules for the five teams:

We’ll take a look at the games that impact the West playoff picture each morning for the rest of the regular season.

Mavs' spot in the standings: They’re sitting in seventh, a half-game behind the Rockets and a half-game ahead of the Nuggets. Dallas is 1 ½ games ahead of the Suns and two games ahead of the Jazz.

SUNDAY'S GAMES

Spurs 114, Jazz 104: Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 51 points in the first-place Spurs’ 11th straight win. Utah guards Earl Watson (knee) and C.J. Miles (calf) left the game due to injuries.

Thunder 91, Raptors 75: Oklahoma City went on a 24-0 run in the second half to turn a close game into a comfortable win.

Rockets 104, Kings 87: Courtney Lee scored 25 points to lead the Rockets in point guard Kyle Lowry’s return after missing 15 games due to a bacterial infection.

TODAY’S GAMES
Lakers at Hornets
Thunder at Bucks
Clippers at Grizzlies
Warriors at Nuggets
Suns at Timberwolves
Spurs at Jazz
Rockets at Trail Blazers

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

Seven-foot basketball players are just supposed to shoot hook shots. That's just the way it is. So over the years when Dirk Nowitzki has been asked about said shot and why one is not part of his arsenal, he would always answer by saying he's working on it.

And every now and then we'd see one.

Take a 2009 preseason game against Cleveland when he broke out the hook.

"I work on it all the time," Nowitzki said after that game. "To use it in a game-time situation, it's something different. Now it's preseason, a good time to swing one. But I don't know if it's ready."

Last postseason against the Lakers, with about a minute left in Game 3, Pau Gasol pushed Nowitzki left of the basket as a second defender charged at him. Nowitzki went to a lefty hook, if you can call it that, and found success.

"I was stuck a little bit and I slung something up there," Nowitzki said. "And it went in."

The hook doesn't come out often, so when Nowitzki went to the hook three, yes, three times Monday against the Denver Nuggets, it was almost not to be believed. Thank goodness for the invention of the DVR. Is Dirk adding the hook to his arsenal two-thirds the way through this lockout-shortened season?

Well, we'll see if it re-appears anytime soon.

His final hook against the Nuggets in the fourth quarter was especially pleasing to Nowitzki and surprisingly painful, it seemed, to Rodrigue Beaubois.

Nowitzki faced-up Denver center Kosta Koufos on the left wing and took him off the dribble to the middle of the lane. Nowitzki windmilled in an awkward-looking, yet highly effective running right-handed hook, and he drew the foul.

Fired up, Nowitzki aggressively high-fived Beaubois, who clearly, judging by his quick recoil, was not expecting such an exuberant celebration from the big fella.

Follow along with our experts as they tweet and chat throughout tonight's Mavs-Nuggets game in Denver.

Of the four teams the Dallas Mavericks face this week, three coming on the road, only the Denver Nuggets can claim to be hotter, as well as more mysterious.

More mysterious? The Nuggets, winners of seven of their last 10, did just make the most stunning trade at the deadline, sending Nene to Washington for talented, but blooper-reel center JaVale McGee. They also just reached a long-term deal with forward Wilson Chandler, who headed to China during the lockout. Both players are expected to be available for tonight's game.

As for the Mavs, with 20 games left can anyone claim to pinpoint where this team is headed -- down the drain or on their way to another championship? Injuries are again forcing odd lineups such as this one that actually got some run twice and held its own against the Spurs on Saturday: Jason Terry, Rodrigue Beaubois, Brian Cardinal, Lamar Odom and Brandan Wright.

Dallas might have to go there again tonight at Denver. They know center Brendan Haywood (sprained right knee) won't play and guard Delonte West remains out. It was against the Nuggets more than a month ago that West's right finger bent in a way it never should when he reached out try to make a steal.

The big question is whether small forward Shawn Marion (sore left knee) will be back after missing his first game of the season against the Spurs. Dallas needs him badly on the road to help defend Danilo Gallinari, whose sprained ankle kept him out of the last matchup, and possibly even point guard Ty Lawson, who Marion held to three points and two assists last month.

Since West's injury, Marion has been charged with guarding point guards, which begs the question in tonight's game -- with or without Marion -- if Beaubois will make his second consecutive start after stringing together four impressive outings.

Coach Rick Carlisle doesn't divulge plans for starting lineups, but he did suggest that he might not be particularly hip to the idea of starting Beaubois at shooting guard.

"One of the downsides to starting him is his minutes get run way up," Carlisle said. "He's not used to playing 35, 36 minutes a game. We've got to be mindful of it because of the frequency of games."

At 23, who better to run up big minutes, especially if Beaubois is playing well? The Mavs have two back-to-backs in the next seven games, which isn't crazy by their recent standards.

Beaubois played 35 minutes against the Spurs, recording 16 points and eight rebounds, and he might have gone longer than that had his 3-pointer with about four minutes to go in the game hadn't of missed the basket entirely. Carlisle used that as a cue to get him out of there. In his other recent start at New Orleans on March 2, Beaubois scored 25 points in 31 minutes.

The announcement of tonight's starting lineup will be interesting. Will he or won't he be in it?

Tonight: at Denver Nuggets (25-20), 9:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: TNT/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Gallinari is back from an awful ankle sprain and after a four-game breaking-in period in which he averaged 4.5 points on 5-of-25 shooting, his touch has returned over the last three games as he's averaged 18.0 points on 17-of-36 shooting, including 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. A rare site on the Nuggets' game-day notes is a blank injury box. The Nuggets, already one of the deeper teams in the league before bringing Chandler back into the fold, hit hard times without Gallinari but seem to be hitting their stride again. They'll push the tempo all night and force the Mavs to keep up.

Wednesday: vs. Los Angeles Lakers (28-17), 8:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Mavs know they won't have to worry about a late 3-ball again from Derek Fisher. The Lakers shipped him out at the deadline in favor of younger, more athletic point guard Ramon Sessions, who comes to Tinseltown via Cleveland. L.A. saw its five-game win streak snapped Sunday night against the Jazz. It was only the Lakers' third loss in 22 games at home. On the road, L.A. hasn't exactly been Showtime at 9-14. The Mavs will get the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back -- they're in Houston on Tuesday. Led by Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, L.A. did get a 96-91 road win at Dallas in the final game before the All-Star break and it sent the Mavs spiraling down a bad path. Odom left on a personal leave prior to that game, but the former Laker is expected to be around for this one.

Friday: at San Antonio Spurs (29-14), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Tony Parker claimed that he and the boys were worn out from a playoff-atmosphere win at Oklahoma City on Friday and didn't have the energy they needed to win at Dallas on Saturday. It is certainly true that the Mavs were happier about getting that much-needed win than the Spurs were unhappy about dropping it. San Antonio will be better rested for this one. They face Minnesota at home on Wednesday night. Stephen Jackson will also be better integrated into whatever role coach Gregg Popovich sees fit for him. This will be the final game of four this season with the Spurs looking to gain the split. And don't look now, but a first-round playoff series is not out of the question.

Saturday: at Houston Rockets (24-22), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Wait, these guys are still in the NBA? The Rockets are the only Western Conference team the Mavs haven't faced this season despite being division foes. Dallas might be getting them at the right time, although the week will ultimately bare that out. Houston has played beyond expectations for most of the season but is dangerously close to being knocked out of the playoff mix by the red-hot Phoenix Suns. If the Rockets have an advantage in this one, it will come on two fronts. One, Houston does not play a back-to-back this week and it will be at home all week. Two, it added center Marcus Camby at the deadline to back up Samuel Dalembert. Along with clever power forward Luis Scola, the Rockets might be able to take advantage of a Mavs team that is expected to still be without Haywood and coming off Friday's game at San Antonio.

DALLAS -- The offensive fireworks started Saturday night on the first possession with a soaring Rodrigue Beaubois grabbing an alley-oop lob from Jason Kidd with two hands high above the rim and slamming it down to the roar of the sellout crowd.

It included 27 points and a couple of big-bang, second-half 3-pointers from Dirk Nowitzki that provoked the big guy to stick out his tongue and bark as he headed back down the floor.

Highlights included Kidd canning four of his own 3-pointers in his most efficient offensive performance of the season and his first double-double as well. The high-intensity show ended with Jason Terry nailing two 3-pointers in the final 2:46 with the grand finale splashing down with 41.9 seconds to lock up the 106-99 victory the division-leading Spurs.

Dallas, now 26-20 with 20 games left, produced one of its best shooting games beyond the arc, finishing 11-of-24, while shooting 46.8 percent overall, a positive performance for a club that has been stuck at about 43 percent all season to rank in the bottom 10 of the league. When the Mavs shoot 45 percent or better, they're 14-2.

The 106 points represented the second highest total since Jan. 30 at Phoenix. The highest came two games earlier -- 107 against Washington -- to kick off this 3-0 homestand. In the middle was 101 points against Charlotte. The Mavs had reached 100 points just 10 times in the 41 games prior to the homestand and scored more than 102 points just four times.

Do the last three games signify a long-awaited offensive breakout? It's easy to dismiss the first two totals against NBA bottom-feeders Washington and Charlotte. And as Spurs point guard Tony Parker pointed out, he and this teammates were fatigued from Friday night's playoff atmosphere win at Oklahoma City.

So be it, but from a purely Mavs point of view, the sudden surge in points has to be viewed as a confidence-builder heading into the rugged final two weeks of March.

"I never view our team as lacking confidence,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "We just need to play at a certain level and we have to have the right kind of presence on the court. Tonight, there were no lags. We've had lags in other games. Tonight, there couldn't be a lag and there wasn't.''

Well, maybe just one in the 18-point second quarter that only got to 18 thanks to Dirk Nowitzki scoring the final 12 points over the last seven minutes of the quarter. But Dallas responded with a 32-point third quarter and 60 points in the second half.

It's no coincidence that in the past three games in which the Mavs have averaged 104.7 points, Beaubois has stepped up to average 16.3 points, quite a boost for a team that had averaged 92.8 points in the nine games after the All-Star break for a 2-7 record. Only four teams are averaging triple digits in this quirky, shortened season -- San Antonio being one; Dallas not being one -- but just how big is it when the Mavs reach that magic mark?

They're now 13-1 with the lone 100-point loss coming to the Thunder on a Kevin Durant buzzer-beater in the third game of the season.

"We were trying to be aggressive, penetrate, make the extra pass and guys were knocking down shots," Kidd said of Saturday's San Antonio win.

That was apparent with 21 assists on 37 field goals and by 25 free throws taken, seven more than the Spurs with their penetrating guards Parker and Manu Ginobili.

So is this recent offensive surge a trend or just a passing fad?

The Denver Nuggets on Monday night will be the next to find out.

DALLAS -- After the Dallas Mavericks held the league's highest-scoring team to 20 points below its season average and to 35.7 percent shooting, Denver Nuggets coach George Karl couldn't help but state the obvious.

"Dallas has turned into an incredibly good defensive team," Karl said after Wednesday night's 102-84 Mavs win. "I think we’re a pretty good offensive team and we couldn’t find many things."

Karl's team was also playing extremely shorthanded with starters Danilo Gallinari, Nene and Timofey Mozgov all injured. Still, Shawn Marion and company limited explosive point guard Ty Lawson to a single field goal and three points and two assists.

The rest of the league is realizing that Dallas is one of the tougher defenses in the league to get good looks against and score against. In fact, they just might be the toughest.

The team that looked as disorganized defensively as any in the first two games now shares the top spot of the NBA rankings in field-goal defense. The Mavs and Los Angeles Lakers are both holding opponents to 41.7 percent shooting. That's better than the Boston Celtics (41.8), the Miami Heat (42.5), the Chicago Bulls (42.7) and the Philadelphia 76ers (42.1), Friday's hard-nosed opponent.

Dallas also continues to move up the rankings in points allowed, giving up 91.3, tied for fifth with the Orlando Magic. Only Boston (87.1), Philadelphia (87.3), Chicago (88.0) and the Los Angeles Lakers (90.5) give up fewer points on average.

During this season-high-tying five-game win streak, the Mavs have allowed 92.4 points and 40.4 percent shooting. At the other end, Dallas has averaged 100.8 points, a significant uptick for a team that's been middle of the pack at around 94 or 95 points a game.

"Right now our efficiency on offense really helps our defense," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the Mavs shot 46.2 percent against Denver with 28 assists on 37 field goals. "It's going to be even more pronounced when we get on the road. It's important that we're tight in all areas. Philadelphia is going to be a different kind of team than [Denver] -- same kind of quickness, but a little different style."

DALLAS -- Shawn Marion still considers himself an All-Star.

Never mind that it’s been five years since he’s actually been selected to the All-Star Game. In the mind of the Matrix, his game is still the same as it’s ever been.

“I don’t sell myself short for nobody,” Marion said after scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out six assists and playing suffocating defense on Denver point guard Ty Lawson during Wednesday’s lopsided win. “If I didn’t have high expectations for myself, I might as well just hang ‘em up.”

Marion might not have the kind of numbers that merited All-Star consideration this season, averaging 12.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, but he’s playing as well as he has since leaving Phoenix. That’s high praise for a man who made a major contribution to the Mavs’ title run last season.

The Matrix is the one man the 19-11 Mavs have been able to count on all season. He reported in phenomenal shape and is the only player on the roster to play in every game this season. He’s been efficient offensively and excellent on the other end, guarding everything from power forwards to point guards to prompt owner Mark Cuban to promote him as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

“He looks comfortable,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “On the defensive end, I thought he was always great. Offensively, he’s being aggressive, running right to the post and his floater game is there. He just plays with a lot of confidence, and we all know this league is a lot about confidence. He has it.

“He’s been probably our most consistent and best player this season.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ rout of the Nuggets:

1. Vince Carter bumps The Admiral: Few players have as much appreciation for NBA history as Carter, but he didn’t know he’d moved up another spot on the league’s all-time scoring list until he was informed after the game that he passed David Robinson. Carter now ranks 33rd in NBA history with 20,794 points and is likely to pass Hall of Famers Bob Pettit and Walt Bellamy by the end of the season. “That is pretty cool to be a part of history,” Carter said. “I remember, I don’t even know how many years ago it was when they announced the 50 greatest, but to go through your career and pass people that were a part of that, that’s a great feeling in itself. You can say you’re passing people that were legends, Hall of Famers. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

2. Big D in Dallas: It’s no longer noteworthy when the Mavericks hold a team under 100 points. But to limit the league’s top-scoring team to 84 points on 35.7 percent shooting is pretty impressive, even with the Nuggets missing Danilo Gallinari and Nene. “Dallas has turned into an incredibly good defensive team,” Denver coach George Karl said. “I think we’re a pretty good offensive team and we couldn’t find many things.”

3. Jason Kidd finds range: Kidd scored a season-high 13 points, shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range. It was only his second double-digit point total of the season. He scored 12 points in the Dec. 26 loss, when he was 4-of-8 from 3-point range. “With the minutes being down and being able to get back in better shape, I feel good,” Kidd said. “I had a couple of airballs the last game, so we’re getting better. My goal was to make one in the second half.”

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks blew out a beat-up Denver squad. The Nuggets were missing three starters, but the Mavs didn’t mess around while putting them out of their misery.

The Mavs led by 12 points at halftime and turned it into a laugher after the break. Third quarters had been problematic for the Mavs recently, but they outscored the Nuggets by a 32-15 margin in that frame to allow Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion to kick back and relax for the last dozen minutes.

That was the most points the Mavs had scored in a third quarter all season. It was the fewest points the Nuggets had scored in any quarter this season.

Six Mavs scored in double figures. They are 19-1 when that has happened since the start of last season, including 3-0 this year.

Marion led the way with 16 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high six assists while shutting down Denver point guard Ty Lawson (three points, two assists, 1-8 FG). Lamar Odom had one of his best offensive performances as a Maverick, scoring 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Kidd scored a season-high 13 points, shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

The other Mavs in double figures: Vince Carter (15 points, 5-10 FG), Nowitzki (12 points, 5-12 FG) and Brandan Wright (10 points, 5-7 FG). Carter, who has 20,794 career points, moved past David Robinson for 33rd place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

What it means: The Mavs have their second five-game winning streak of the season. However, they paid a painful price during this win. Delonte West, whose play has been key to managing Kidd’s minutes, suffered a fractured and dislocated right ring finger during the second quarter. The Mavs have not announced how long they expect the left-handed West to be sidelined.

Play of the game: It was a textbook example of how to run a fast break. Carter grabbed a rebound, threw an outlet pass to Kidd, who caught the ball across the half-court line, dribbled a couple of times and left a soft bounce pass to trailing Wright. The Mavs’ human exclamation point got eye-high with the rim for the two-hand finish.

Stat of the night: Marion recorded his fifth double-double of the season. The rest of the Mavs’ roster has three double-doubles.