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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.

DALLAS – The Human Exclamation Point is an honest man.

Yes, Brandan Wright gets a certain extra sense of satisfaction out of lighting up his former team. And he’s given Golden State a good idea of just what they let get away in the Mavs’ two wins over the Warriors this month, putting up a season-high 16 points in last week’s victory in Oakland and bettering that by a point in Friday’s home win.

“It’s one of those situations that you want to play well against your former team,” Wright said with a smile. “That’s all I can give you on that. You want to play well; you want to beat those guys. Since I got traded, I haven’t lost a game to them.”

That’s technically true. Wright was dealing with a concussion and didn’t make the road trip when the Mavs lost to the Warriors in March.

Wright had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a season-high-tying nine rebounds when he finally got the chance to play the Warriors with the Mavericks. He had 17 and seven in only 17 minutes Friday night, when he made eight of nine shots from the floor.

The 24-year-old Wright has gone from a lottery pick that Golden State gave up on to a major bargain for the Mavs, who will pick up the team option to pay him the NBA minimum next season without thinking twice.

Wright won’t see the Warriors until next season, but he’ll have no problem finding motivational fodder. He’s preparing to play in the playoffs for the first time in his career.

A few more notes on Friday’s win:

1. Azubuike’s Dallas debut: It was a special night for Kelenna Azubuike, although the ex-Golden State swingman probably won’t frame the box score. He was 0-of-2 from the floor and committed two turnovers during six minutes in his NBA return after a two-plus-year layoff after a devastating knee injury.

“The knee feels great,” Azubuike said. “Now, the game will come.”

It was his first NBA appearance since for the 28-year-old Azubuike since tore his patella tendon on Nov. 14, 2009 and had post-surgery complications. The Mavs signed him in March to a one-year deal with a team option for next season with the hopes that he’d be regain his form from 2008-09, when he averaged 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, in time to be part of the Dallas rotation next season.

Any contributions from Azubuike this season will be considered a bonus.

"It's like (Corey) Brewer last year,” said coach Rick Carlisle, who noted that both of Azubuike’s 3-point attempts were in and out and praised his defense. “If he can help us somewhere along the line -- one play, or a few good minutes in a game at the right time, it's all worth it.”

"He's worked hard and I'm happy for him. He's had a two-year ordeal to get back."

2. Minutes managing: Delonte West was the only Maverick to play more than 30 minutes against Golden State. Not coincidentally, the 28-year-old West is by far the youngest player among the Mavs’ starters and top two reserves. “Compared to the rest of our team, he’s a youngster,” Carlisle said.

3. Terrible tie: Carlisle put the Mavs’ off night from 3-point range (3-of-19) in perspective by pointing out that their perimeter shooting was prettier than the orange tie that he wore during the game. Carlisle offered a simple excuse for having an off fashion night. His wife Donna didn’t pick out the tie, allowing Carlisle to be a victim of his own questionable taste.

DALLAS – The decision to dump Lamar Odom didn’t just lift a black cloud from the Dallas Mavericks’ locker room. It also helped unleash Vince Carter.

Carter’s role changed when the Mavs had to adjust the rotation to make up for Odom’s absence. With Shawn Marion playing the vast majority of the minutes at power forward when Dirk Nowitzki rests, as was the case during the Mavs’ title run, Carter now comes off the bench and plays almost solely small forward.

“It gives us another attacker out there at the small forward position,” coach Rick Carlisle said, “so that’s a plus.”

That’s putting it mildly based on Carter’s recent production. He has averaged 13.3 points on 46.8 percent shooting in the last eight games, dating to the night in Memphis when Mark Cuban made the decision to get rid of Odom after their heated halftime conversation. Carter has put up an average of 20 points in the Mavs’ last three games, including scoring all of his team-high 19 points in the second half of Friday’s 104-94 win over the Golden State Warriors.

There were long stretches after the All-Star break when it looked like there wasn’t much life left in Carter’s 35-year-old legs. That’s no longer a concern, not after watching Carter have a handful of highlight-reel, high-above-the-rim flashbacks to vintage Vinsanity this week.

“I’ve taken the time to really take care of myself to make sure I’m ready and make sure I’m healthy,” Carter said. “I didn’t want to not be ready for this moment -- and that’s the playoffs. Just make sure I’m in my rhythm and make sure my body is feeling good. And I feel great.”

He looks great in his new role, which allows the 20,000-plus-point career scorer to utilize his quickness against bigger defenders. Carter’s 3-point range also spaces the floor for Jason Terry and Nowitzki to work when they’re on the floor with him.

“Like I told them from the beginning, I really don’t care what my role is, where he puts me on the floor, how he puts me in the game,” said Carter, an eight-time All-Star whose sole goal at this point of his career is to earn his first championship ring. “Just know when it’s my turn, I’m going to come in and be ready to play. I’ve been that way, and I’ve just tried to step my aggression up just a little more."

Carter adds that he’s not trying to step on any toes, but that’s far from an issue. The Mavs, who rank in the NBA’s bottom third in offensive efficiency, need him to be in attack mode.

Carlisle has emphasized to Carter that being aggressive is a major part of his job description. It isn’t a coincidence that the Mavs have scored 100 points in four straight games -- for just the second time this season -- and hit triple digits in six of the last seven games.

“He’s one of our most versatile players, and the fact that he attacks the rim is important for us because we don’t have a lot of guys that get in the paint that well,” said big man Brendan Haywood, who played at North Carolina with Carter way back when. “The timing is great. This is the time of the year that you want guys to be peaking, and it seems like that’s what he’s doing right now.”

Consider that a side benefit to sending Odom home to Los Angeles.

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks managed to beat Golden State’s summer league team without expending a whole lot of energy.

It wasn’t exactly an inspirational effort in the Mavs’ final home game of the regular season. They let a team that started four rookies hang around all night.

But it can’t be considered surprising that the Mavs seemed to lack motivation a night after clinching the franchise’s 12th consecutive playoff berth while sitting on the couch.

It’s not like the win was ever in question for the Mavs. They closed the third quarter with a 6-0 run and added the first bucket of the fourth quarter to give themselves enough of a cushion to cruise to the buzzer.

Vince Carter lit it up in the fourth quarter to make sure that the Warriors’ leftovers wouldn’t be a threat down the stretch. Carter scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, when he was 4-of-5 from the floor, including the 1,500th made 3-pointer of his career.

Brandan Wright, the young lottery pick Golden State gave up on last year, added a season-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting.

Minutes might have been the most important category in the box score for the Mavs. Delonte West, who had 16 points, was the only Mav to play more than 30.

What it means: The Mavs moved a game ahead of the Nuggets for sixth place in the West. Golden State took another step toward retaining its first-round draft pick, which is top-seven protected.

Bold play of the game: Shawn Marion came off a screen on an inbounds pass, curled to the hoop, caught a pass from Carter and dunked with two hands over two Warriors. That gave the Mavs a 73-70 lead and was part of an 8-0 run.

Stat of the night: The Mavs didn’t extend their NBA-record streak of games with a made 3-pointer until the final play of the third quarter, when West knocked one down from the right corner. They missed their first 14 3-point attempts and finished 3-of-19 from long range. The streak now stands at 1,084 games.

Follow along with our experts as they tweet and chat throughout tonight's Mavs-Warriors game at American Airlines Center.

The Dallas Mavericks' title defense is on.

By virtue of the Houston Rockets dropping their sixth straight game Thursday night to the New Orleans Hornets, the Mavs (35-28) clinched a playoff spot for the 12th consecutive season.

They can take it easy Friday night if they so choose when the Golden State Warriors visit the American Airlines Center in the final home game of the season. Currently occupying the sixth seed, one-half game ahead of the Denver Nuggets, Dallas plays at the Chicago Bulls on Saturday and then wraps up the 66-game, lockout-shortened season Thursday night at Atlanta.

As of today, the Mavs are in position to open the playoffs in Los Angeles against the third-seeded Lakers. However, the Los Angeles Clippers remain in play for the third seed. Dallas could also finish with the seventh seed and open the playoffs at either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs.

The Mavs will be the first defending champion since the 2007 Heat to begin their title defense on the road. Miami is the last defending champ to lose in the first round of the playoffs.

DALLAS -- The Mavericks should clinch a playoff berth probably no later than Friday night with a win over the Golden State Warriors (or a Houston loss against New Orleans tonight will get the job). Once achieved, should coach Rick Carlisle then severely limit minutes in the final two or three games, or allow his team, so rarely as healthy and whole and drama-free as it is now, to continue to gear up for the playoffs?

The schedule itself, with four days off between Saturday's game at Chicago and Thursday's finale at Atlanta, provides a nice cushion for recuperation and some players are saying they'd prefer to keep putting their foot to the pedal and not let off.

Jason Kidd is the prime candidate for additional rest, but even the 39-year-old who has racked up season-high minutes throughout the last week, sounds as if sitting out games wouldn't be his first choice.

"We want to be playing our best basketball and everybody wants to be on the same page," Kidd said after his 12-point, eight-assist outing in Wednesday's win over the Rockets. "So, the more time we can get out there on the floor together with different groups of guys we feel good."

Dallas has virtually only been the team it will be in the playoffs for the last six games. April 10 at home against Sacramento was Jason Kidd's first game back after missing four with a strained groin, and it was Lamar Odom's first game gone since owner Mark Cuban sent him home.

They are 4-2 in those games and have scored at least 108 points in five but have also allowed an average of 107 points -- both thresholds being polar opposites from the majority of the season.

The Mavs could be involved in two meaningful games, at least for their opponents, to close out the season. The Bulls could still be making a run for the overall best record in the league to acquire homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, and the Hawks could still be battling Boston and/or Orlando for the fourth seed and homecourt in the first round.

"I think we’re going to keep playing to keep the edge," Jason Terry said. "There’ll probably be a couple guys that are going to stay fresh and get rest, but I know for myself and for Dirk, we like to play it out. There’s no reason for us not to. You don’t want to lose your competitive edge or your rhythm."

SALT LAKE CITY -- This is it. The final full week of the compacted 66-game regular-season schedule comes down to four games in six nights.

The Mavericks will have four days off following this week's slate before finishing off the regular season on April 26 at Atlanta, and then presumably beginning the playoffs a few days later.

The Mavs (34-27) have yet to secure a playoff spot with five games to go, but they certainly have the upper hand in getting in and finishing with the sixth seed. But nothing is guaranteed and that includes getting a win tonight at Utah, a team desperately clinging to playoff contention.

So here we go:

Today: at Utah Jazz (31-30), 8 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Mavs know they're going to get the Jazz's best game. They got a night off and have to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Dallas is 2-0 against Utah but hasn't seen the Jazz since early March. The big issue for the Mavs could be fatigue after Sunday's overtime loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. Dirk Nowitzki played a team-high 43 minutes. Jason Kidd played a season-high 39, Delonte West and Brendan Haywood each played 38 minutes and Jason Terry played 37.

Wednesday: versus Houston Rockets (32-28), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: KTXA (Ch. 21)/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Another desperate team is on the docket. The Rockets ended the week Sunday with a third consecutive loss after winning four in a row. Houston gets Denver at home tonight and depending on that result and how the Mavs fare at Utah, this game could be absolutely huge just to get into the playoffs.

Friday: versus Golden State Warriors (22-37), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: If ever there was a gimme game, this is it in the home finale. The Warriors (10-20 on the road), via trade and injury, are completely depleted. Their best healthy player might not be healthy any longer as David Lee has a strained groin and a stress reaction and could miss the rest of the season. Dallas came close to blowing a big lead at Golden State to start this current four-game road trip. If the Mavs don't win this one easily at home then they might as well pack it in for the summer.

Saturday: at Chicago Bulls (46-14), 8 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: This will be the Bulls' third-to-last game, and as they start the week with a 3 1/2-game lead over Miami for the No. 1 seed in the East, it's debatable as to whether the Mavs will see a full Bulls lineup or not. By this point, if the Mavs have not clinched a playoff spot, they could be in serious jeopardy of matching the 1999 Bulls as the last defending champ not to make the playoffs. Chicago could still be jockeying with Oklahoma City and San Antonio for best overall record, so it's hard to say at this point how each coach will approach the game.

How it happened: Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle called a 20-second timeout less than two minutes into the game. The Golden State Warriors had a 4-0 lead and scored on a putback and fastbreak dunk.

If Carlisle had to remind his troops of the imperative nature of this first of four consecutive road games, then his message sunk in. The Mavs scored the next six points and were pretty much off and running against a Warriors team that traded Monta Ellis and is without injured guard Stephen Curry.

Oh, you weren't particularly thrilled that the Mavs' 19-point lead was whittled all the way down to 91-88 in the fourth quarter? Neither was Carlisle, who called for Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd to hop off the bench with 10:10 left to go in the game. Kidd had already played his 23 minutes and surely Carlisle was hoping Kidd could again take the entire fourth quarter off with a game at Portland on Friday night.

Kidd went to Nowitzki on consecutive possessions and the 7-footer, despite being just 6-of-16 from the floor at the time, drained a one-legged fallaway and then curled around his man and softly put in the finger roll to jump-start a 10-2 run and effectively put the game away.

The disappointing aspect for Carlisle is that he had to go with Nowitzki for nearly 37 minutes and Kidd logged 33. That's not the best way to start a back-to-back and four games in five nights.

Dallas got a big-time first half from former Warriors lottery pick Brandan Wright. He had 12 points and five assists in his first 11 minutes of the first half and finished with 16 points and nine boards. And Rodrigue Beaubois (11 points, five assists) had a nice first half as well, including a couple of highlight-reel plays with a swooping reverse layup and an alley-oop.

Kidd, in his second game back from a right groin strain, fell one point shy of his 108th career triple-double. He had nine points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Nowitzki finished with 27 points on 10-of-23 shooting and Shawn Marion collected double-digit rebounds (12 with seven points) for a fifth consecutive game.

The Mavs' bench poured in 57 points as Jason Terry matched Wright's 16 points.

Last month, the Mavs lost to Sacramento and Golden State in consecutive games. This time around, they've taken care of both, averaging 111 points in the process.

What it means: The Mavs recorded consecutive victories for the first time since the two-game sweep of the Rockets on March 24 and 27 when Carlisle declared it the start of the playoffs. The win moves Dallas to 33-26 and gives the Mavs sole possession of the sixth seed, one-half game ahead of idle Denver and Houston, and 1 1/2 games behind fifth-seeded Memphis.

Bold play of the game: With 2:16 to go in the first half, Kidd lofted an alley-oop pass that Beaubois went high to grab and threw it down with flair, using the right hand from the left side of the bucket for a 58-41 lead.

Stat of the game: The Mavs didn't commit their first turnover until the 5:13 mark of the second quarter and had just three in the first half.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he won't go to the trouble of jumping through the hoops necessary to not pay Lamar Odom the remainder due on his $8.9 million salary.

Perhaps if Cuban would have sent Odom home after his All-Star break personal leave, he might have felt differently. But with just nine games left when Cuban finally banished Odom after their locker-room confrontation during halftime of Saturday's game at Memphis, Cuban said it's just not worth it.

"I could, but I'm not going to," Cuban said. "There's all kinds of things I could do, but I'm not going to."

Cuban will hope to trade him by June 29 so that the Mavs' 2012-13 payroll won't be burdened with the $2.4 million guaranteed on the final year of Odom's contract.

The full amount of Odom's final year is $8.2 million and even he surely knows that he will never see such a dollar figure ever again.

The question now is how much money did last season's Sixth Man of the Year cost himself?

Had Odom, 32, continued his career track of 14.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, he might have been able to earn the full amount of his final-year salary, perhaps not with the Mavs who have all along planned to clear out cap space, but somewhere. As versatile as he can be, $8.2 million might have even seemed like a bargain.

That was before Odom went off the emotional deep end and disingenuously gave the Mavs mostly lifeless, expressionless outings in front of a fan base that turned on him. Cuban finally turned on him when the owner saw zero emotion emanating from Odom at halftime of the Memphis game after the Mavs had battled back from a 26-6 deficit.

One early rumor has the Golden State Warriors interested in adding Odom next season. If Odom couldn't muster the energy to play for the defending champs, what would motivate him to play for a perennial lottery team?

The teams that make most sense for Odom are the ones he's already played for: Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. The Lakers (who can't sign Odom until Dec. 11 per the new collective bargaining agreement) and Heat, both of which already sport luxury-tax-type payrolls for next season, would be limited to offering Odom the mini-midlevel exception of $3 million in the first season. The Clippers (and Warriors, too) could pay him the full midlevel of $5 million or any figure they see fit.

But why would any team risk that kind of valuable payroll space on a player dealing with layers of emotional turmoil and who proved worthless on the court this season?

"I don't know," Cuban said. "It's not that he can't play, he's just got to choose to."

And that would seem to be a risk that even the veteran's minimum might not be worth.

And you thought last week was important? This week very well could mean make or break. Postseason or golf season.

Four games in six days. Three on the road.

"Every game now is going to be of even more significant importance," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We know that. We don’t need to overstate it."

Sorry, coach.

But after a horrific 1-3 week -- with two losses coming at home -- at this juncture of the season, alarm bells are raging. Adding to the distress is that there is still no knowing when Jason Kidd (strained right groin) will return.

The new week starts Tuesday at home against the Sacramento Kings, a team that walloped Dallas a month ago. In fact, each team on the schedule this week -- which ends with a nationally televised Sunday matinee at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers -- has handed the Mavs at least one loss.

Saturday's loss at Memphis probably means the Mavs won't move any higher than the sixth seed. But danger lurks from behind, and any slip-ups could put the title defense on permanent ice.

"Everybody’s sweating it out," Jason Terry said. "All we can do is control us. We’ve got to win the games."

Tuesday: vs. Sacramento Kings (19-37), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Kings plastered the Mavs in Sacramento in the middle game of that horrid back-to-back-to-back. If they walk out of Dallas with a victory, put Dallas on full meltdown alert. The Kings, 2-8 in their last 10 games, have won five road games -- three fewer than Portland had when the Blazers came through last week and left with an overtime win. The Mavs have been making a habit of calling recent games critical or must-win. Well, this one really is.

Thursday: at Golden State Warriors (22-33), 9:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: TNT/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Monta Ellis resides in Milwaukee now, but that doesn't make the Warriors any less dangerous on their home floor, regardless of their 12-16 mark. Golden State will be coming off a game at Portland the night before so Dallas should have a bit of an edge physically as it begins a back-to-back.

Friday: at Portland Trail Blazers (27-30), 9:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: This game will prove a significant test for Dallas coming off Thursday's game at Golden State. In two meetings in Dallas, the teams have needed three overtimes to settle things. Portland evened the season-series last week when LaMarcus Aldridge drained a buzzer-beater in overtime. In those two games, the Seagoville native has clobbered his hometown team to the tune of 29.0 points on 48 percent shooting and 12.0 rebounds, including 6.0 on the offensive boards. The Blazers might be below .500 overall, but they are tough at home with a 19-10 record.

Sunday: at Los Angeles Lakers (35-22), 2:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ABC/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: First-round playoff preview? Possibly. The Mavs are looking for their first win in four games against the team they swept in the second round last season. The Lakers are 23-6 at Staples but they've been vulnerable recently, losing to Oklahoma City and Houston while pulling out close calls against New Jersey and New Orleans. Kobe Bryant (shin) missed Saturday's game at Phoenix, a 125-105 loss, and the Lakers have not given a timetable for his return. While Kobe had his first big night in the Lakers' 109-93 win at Dallas last month with 30 points when Shawn Marion was out with his own injury, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and newcomer Ramon Sessions, have inflicted wounds.

Don Nelson's passion was for reclamation projects, and he proved to be a master architect and orchestrator at just about every stop in what has finally become a Hall of Fame coaching career.

Nelson got the call Wednesday morning that he will be among this year's Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.

"It's a great honor to cap my career," the one-time Mavericks coach said. "I've had a great time and a great life coaching basketball. I don't actually need to be rewarded for anything, but I am very proud and my family is very proud of this award."

Nellie Ball included small ball and point forwards and an emphasis on playing fast and scoring in bunches.

He traded for a little-known, mop-topped, 7-foot teenager from Germany named Dirk Nowitzki at the 1998 draft. Nelson set him free to shoot 3-pointers and the future course of the Mavs’ franchise, one of the worst in the NBA if not in all sports during the 1990s, was set.

When owner Mark Cuban bought the team on Jan. 4, he kept Nelson at the half. Trades for Steve Nash and Michael Finley (prior to Nelson's arrival) landed the Mavs a Big Three, and Nelson guided the Mavs to the Western Conference finals in 2003 for the first time since 1988.

Nelson stepped down with 18 games remaining in the 2004-05 season, handing the reins to assistant coach Avery Johnson, who a year later led the franchise to its first NBA Finals.

“I enjoyed building teams,” Nelson said. “I enjoyed going into cities that had losing records and getting involved in their franchise and building it into a contender. When you do it that way you end up with teams that won 20 games the year before. It forces you to be innovative to be competitive. It’s a necessity to learn how to do it to be competitive.”

Nelson took over the 1997-98 Mavs after a 4-12 start under Jim Cleamons, who won 24 games in his first season. Nelson went 19-31 in the lockout-shortened 1999 season and then had Dallas flirting with .500 at 40-42 the next season, paving the way for 11 consecutive playoff appearances.

The relationship between Nelson and Cuban soured toward in the final years and hit a low point with a contentious lawsuit. In 2007, Nelson revived the Golden State Warriors in his second stint there and relished the moment as his eighth-seeded Warriors, calling them a bunch of “schmoes,” ousted the No. 1 seed Mavs in the first-round series.

Nelson said he and Cuban have reconciled and exchanged text messages Wednesday after Nelson received the news of his inclusion.

When asked for his reaction, Cuban said via email, "I'm happy for Nellie. He deserved it."

Now that Nelson will be among the game’s greats in the Springfield, Mass., shrine, does he still have a passion to coach? He was highly interested in the Minnesota Timberwolves opening that was went to Rick Adelman.

Would the right job lure him back for a chance to add to his 1,335 career victories?

“That’s a good question,” Nelson said. “I would doubt it. But, I would never say no.”

DALLAS -- Mavericks guard Jason Terry loves his Arizona Wildcats, but he's not afraid to call a trade the way he sees it even it involves one of his fellow Cats.

That said, Terry said the deal that reunited the Spurs and Stephen Jackson by sending Richard Jefferson to the Golden State Warriors was an obvious trade to make. Jackson is an edgier and more physical small forward who isn't afraid to throw around some attitude and elbows on both ends of the floor. Jackson also gives the Spurs another defensive option to throw at Dirk Nowitzki if these two teams were to again meet in a playoff series.

Terry, though, didn't think matching up the Mavs was the impetus for Thursday's deal.

"I don’t think Pop cares at all," Terry said. "I think it’s just that’s what they needed. They wanted to get Jefferson out of there and if you can get Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson, I would have did it, too. And he’s a Wildcat, but that’s just a no-brainer."

It is possible that Jackson could be with the team tonight. He and Jefferson have 48 hours to report to their new teams, which is 2 p.m. today.

The Spurs are expected to have Manu Ginobili back in the lineup, while the Mavs will be without Brendan Haywood (sprained right knee) and Delonte West (fractured right ring finger). Shawn Marion (sore left knee) is a game-time decision.

Terry said no matter who plays tonight, this one is an important game for Dallas to win.

"This is our rival and obviously everyone knows it's going to be a wild and crazy building tonight and we’re excited for the challenge," Terry said. "They’re playing very well right now. They made a move at the deadline that gave them some more toughness and scoring power. Whether he [Jackson] plays tonight or not, we’ll be ready."

Coming off a high-energy, 15-point, six-assist performance in a big win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, Jason Kidd said he felt great and was ready to take on the Mavericks' lone back-to-back-to-back of the season.

That would not be the case. Coach Rick Carlisle opted to sit his starting point guard Saturday night at Golden State on the final game of not only three in a row, but their fifth in six nights and the ninth in 12 -- and it didn't matter how desperate the Mavs were to get a win.

"It wasn’t a good idea for him to play," Carlisle said.

Kidd missed his 11th game of the season, joining Brendan Haywood (sprained left ankle) and Delonte West (broken finger) in suits, plus Brandan Wright (concussion) was back in Dallas.

The Mavs got down by double-digits in the first quarter, trailed by 19 in the second quarter and after getting as close as seven in the third quarter, fell apart. Despite their third consecutive loss and eighth in 10 games, Carlisle said sitting his floor general against the Warriors was the right move.

"He’s so important to us that it’s tough to play without him, but we’ve got to look at this on a big-picture basis," Carlisle said. "I’m disappointed, but not dismayed. We’ve just got to keep going."

Kidd played 30 minutes in the loss at Phoenix on Thursday and 22 minutes in Friday's lopsided defeat at Sacramento. Sitting out Saturday's game gives him three full days off before Dallas opens a three-game homestand Tuesday against the Washington Wizards, followed by the Charlotte Bobcats and the San Antonio Spurs.

Haywood dressed Saturday night, but did not play, which seems to suggest that he'll be ready to return Tuesday night. Prior to the trip, Carlisle said the hope was that Wright will be able to resume practice Monday, perhaps making him available for Tuesday's game. West is expected to be evaluated Monday with the hope that the stabilizing pins in his right ring finger will be able to be removed soon, paving the way for his eventual return.

That's the good news. But, what about this team's collective psyche?

Jason Terry was emotional and didn't mince words after Friday's loss to the Kings, saying that changes were necessary, that they weren't playing as a team, not handling adversity with the aplomb of last season's team and that, "You can only look at something for so long and you’re getting the same result. So at what point are you going to change or are you going to ride it out?"

Carlisle, as expected, has maintained an even-keel approach and reiterated prior to the Golden State game that he's not worried about the team fraying. At Saturday's conclusion, Terry was far more measured and optimistic.

"We can't let this kill our spirit. It's been a rough go and you've got to go through tough times to get to where you want to go," Terry said. "Hopefully, we'll look back on this stretch of the season and say, 'Man, we got through it, we persevered.' The communication is back. I think after the Phoenix loss, we aired a lot of things out. We're all on the same page now. Hopefully we can go home and right the ship."

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks showed little will early on to produce any other outcome than what went down Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors led by 19 points midway through the second quarter as the Mavs' body language matched their intensity level. A seemingly total lack of interest allowed for a double-digit deficit in the first quarter.

Yes, it was the final game of the brutal, nine-in-12 stretch and it was Dallas' fifth game in six nights. But, for a team desperate for a win, the Mavs started out looking desperate just to get back in their own beds. The silver lining here is that they have two days off with two of the worst teams in the league coming to the American Airlines Center. The Washington Wizards are there Tuesday followed by the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday.

If either of those teams comes in and somehow continues the Mavs' misery, then look out, this season will officially be under the gun.

Jason Kidd took Saturday night off after playing 30 minutes in Phoenix and 22 in Sacramento on this three-in-three. Center Brendan Haywood (sprained left ankle) dressed, but he did not play for a fourth consecutive game.

Dallas showed a pulse as it cut a 19-point lead to seven in the third quarter, but the Warriors continued to create turnovers and hit 3-pointers (7-of-14 after three quarters) to keep the Mavs at a safe distance. By the time the period was over, Golden State, led by Monta Ellis' 17 third-quarter points (20 overall) pumped up the lead to first-half levels -- 17, 83-66.

Through three quarters, the Warriors shot 55.2 percent while the Mavs were mired at 38.6 percent.

Dallas had three players score in double figures. Dirk Nowitzki had 22 on 7-of-16 shooting, Jason Terry had 15 and Rodrigue Beaubois had 12. David Lee had 21 of his 25 in the decisive first half. Nate Robinson destroyed Dallas off the bench with 21 points, including three 3-pointers.

What it means: The Mavs finish the nine-in-12 with a 2-7 record and get swept in their lone back-to-back-to-back of the season. They have lost eight of their last 10 and seven in a row on the road (8-13 overall). Dallas heads home with a 23-20 record and in eighth place in the Western Conference. They have not been as few as three games over .500 since the Feb. 4 loss at Cleveland to drop to 14-11.

Bold play of the game: With the Mavs trying to keep chipping away, Jason Terry made a terrible pass from the corner to the free throw line that was picked off by Ellis for a 14th turnover midway through the third quarter. Ellis soared in for the layup and was lackadaisically fouled by Dominique Jones. Although Ellis missed the free throw, it still put Golden State back up 12, 69-57. The Warriors ended the period with a flurry to go up by 17.

Stat of the game: On a night the Mavs could have used an I-got-your-back game from Lamar Odom, he finishes with three points on 1-of-6 shooting in just 16:28 before getting a few extra minutes of garbage time late in the game.