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The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

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ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to touch on the storylines in the NBA playoffs and offer a Mavs perspective. Listen

Jason Terry: JET’s best work since signing with Boston has come since the Celtics’ backs were pinned against the wall.

Terry followed up his Game 4 overtime heroics with a 17-point, four-rebound, three-assist, no-turnover, multi-wing performance in the Celtics’ win over the Knicks that forced the series back to Boston. Terry’s 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range was critical to the Celtics building a double-digit lead that was too large for the Knicks to overcome.

"I'm a 14-year veteran," Terry said on TNT moments after the win. "If you don't know who I am by now, you will after this series."

That was apparently in response to Knicks sixth man J.R. Smith, who was suspended for Game 4 because of an elbow that connected with Terry’s head and stunk it up in Game 5, claiming that he didn’t know who Terry was.

Of course, JET has always been one of the league’s best at jawing. Case in point: He repeatedly referenced the Red Sox’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series, quoting “the great Kevin Millar” about the pressure shifting with a Game 5 win.

Jason Kidd: Mouthy sixth man Smith’s miserable performance got a lot of attention, but Kidd didn’t exactly bring much off the bench, either.

In fact, this ranked among the worst playoff performances of Kidd’s Hall of Fame career.

The 40-year-old went scoreless in 21 minutes, missing all four shot attempts. His only other stats: two rebounds, one block, one turnover and one foul. No assists. His plus-minus was a team-worst minus-14.

Tyson Chandler: Having chipped off rust and worked his way back into shape after a neck injury caused him to miss 16 of 20 games entering the playoffs, Chandler came up with a typical Chandler outing.

The big man had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, 11 rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes. The Knicks were plus-8 with the 7-footer on the floor.

"I felt great," he said. "This game is probably the best I've felt. I felt lively, my legs felt good."

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson played a grand total of 16 seconds in the Hawks’ tie-breaking Game 5 loss to the Pacers. He did manage to get up a shot that he missed.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi played only 9:27 in the Pacers’ win. He probably would have seen more minutes if he didn’t pick up five fouls. He finished with two points, two rebounds and a block.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

Jason Terry: We’ll just use an excerpt from ESPNBoston.com colleague Chris Forsberg’s column to sum up the vintage JET performance in his first playoff win since the title-clincher in Miami.

With the Celtics on the brink of being unceremoniously swept from the playoffs, Terry delivered a rarity this season: One of his familiar big-game efforts, scoring nine points in overtime as Boston held off New York 97-90 in Game 4 of the teams' first-round playoff series on Sunday at TD Garden.

The Knicks own a 3-1 series lead as the only things they put away Sunday were their brooms. Game 5 is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

"I had every intention of trying to make an impact on the game, some way or another," said the 35-year-old Terry, who scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting with four assists over 41 minutes. One game after shuffling to a starting role to help with ballhandling, Terry returned to a bench spot and provided a much-needed spark, accounting for all but four points of Boston's reserve production.

"If I wasn't making shots, I wanted to get a steal, get a rebound, any little thing to keep it going," Terry said. "Again, I'm going to coach AAU, but I don't want to do that right now."

The quintessential Terry postseason performance was highlighted by the quintessential Terry shot. Sneaking out in transition in a tied game late in overtime, Terry found space as three Knicks defenders shaded toward Paul Pierce on the opposite wing. Jeff Green fed Terry, who pulled up in transition on the left side and splashed a 3-pointer -- his lone triple of the game -- before Jason Kidd could get out to contest.

The trifecta broke the game's final tie and Terry added a 13-foot fadeaway, two free throws (after craftily drawing a loose-ball foul call boxing out for a defensive rebound) and a layup before the final horn.

Terry's struggles this season have been well-documented. Celtics coach Doc Rivers had made Terry his first phone call when free agency opened in July and there was hope that the former Sixth Man of the Year would provide a long-missing bench spark for Boston, particularly after Ray Allen defected to the rival Heat.

But Terry, playing the first season of a three-year, $15.7 million contract, slumped throughout the regular season and straight into the playoffs. At times his defense eroded to the point that, unable to convert on the offensive end, he was a liability on the floor. He admits his trademark soaring jet celebration has been stuck in the hangar for much of the season.

Despite taxiing for much of the season, Terry picked a heck of a time to get off the tarmac.

"I've just been patient," he said. "As long as there's time on the clock, as long as there is another game, it's an opportunity for me to do something special. That's just the type of player I am. Whether I've made every shot or missed every shot, I have the same focus, the same confidence."

Tyson Chandler: Chandler scored five points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked one shot in 31 minutes. The Knicks were outscored by six with him on the floor.

Jason Kidd: Kidd was scoreless in 37 minutes during the Knicks’ overtime loss, going 0-for-3 from the floor. He grabbed nine rebounds, dished out two assists and committed two turnovers.

Corey Brewer: Brewer had 14 points on 3-of-9 shooting with one rebound and one steal in 29 minutes as his Nuggets were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Warriors.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

Jason Terry: At least JET got on the board after a scoreless Game 1 performance. It looked like he might give the Celtics a big boost off the bench after he knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half.

That, however, accounted for all of Terry’s scoring in the Celtics’ loss. He finished with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting (3-of-7 from 3-point range) and dished out three assists in 34 minutes.

Terry certainly wasn’t the only Celtic who struggled offensively in the second half. Boston scored a grand total of 23 points after halftime.

“In the second half we didn’t show up, so we look forward to going home and getting this first one,” Terry told reporters after the Knicks took a 2-0 series lead. “I never get too high or too low. So, I’m always even keeled. It’s a long series. I always say that. We’ll see what adjustments we make going forward.”

Tyson Chandler: The Knicks were plus-21 in Chandler’s 22 minutes, which is by far the most impressive number from his statistical line.

Chandler did get his first bucket of the series, scoring three points on 1-of-4 shooting. He grabbed five rebounds and blocked one shot.

Jason Kidd: The Knicks didn’t need Kidd to play heavy minutes in this win, so he should be fresh as the series goes to Boston. He had three points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 23 minutes.

Corey Brewer: Brewer scored 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting off the Nuggets’ bench. He had nine points in the fourth quarter, but Golden State had essentially put the game away by then. Brewer also had three assists and two rebounds in 30 minutes.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

Jason Kidd: This was classic late-career Kidd. He didn’t post a spectacular line (eight points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals in 35 minutes), but he was a significant force during closing time in the Knicks’ win over Boston.

All three of his steals came in the final five minutes. On the first steal, the 40-year-old Kidd deflected a pass and outhustled 26-year-old Jeff Green by diving for a loose ball to spark a fast break. With 2:20 remaining and New York up five, Kidd diagnosed a play that’s a Celtics staple and helped from the weak side to strip Green under the basket. Kidd’s strip of Kevin Garnett on a mismatched post-up in the final minute essentially sealed the win.

“He beats everyone with his brain,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said at his postgame press conference. “If you think quicker than a guy can move, you’re still quicker. That’s why he’s there first, because he thought what the guy was going to do before he did it. He’s just a valuable player to have on a basketball team.”

Tyson Chandler: The fiery big man was a nonfactor in Game 1 against the Celtics after missing 16 of the Knicks’ final 20 regular-season games due to a neck injury. He had five rebounds and one steal in 20 scoreless minutes, and the Knicks opted to play Kenyon Martin at center instead of Chandler in crunch time.

"I knew I would be rusty. I knew I would be a little winded. I knew at some point my legs would get the best of me," Chandler said, according to ESPNNewYork.com. "I just wanted to be out there with my team."

Chandler said his neck didn’t bother him. He acknowledged that conditioning was a factor.

“I should obviously be much better in Game 2,” he said.

Jason Terry: For the first time in his career, Terry failed to score a point in a playoff game.

JET was 0-of-5 from the floor in 20 minutes. His only contributions to the Celtics were three rebounds and one steal. Meanwhile, Boston’s bench was outscored by a 33-4 margin.

"You don't get too high or down too low," Terry said, according to ESPNBoston.com. "It's a long series. If I bet on myself, I know how this is going to end up. I'm going to keep grinding, do the things necessary to win."

Corey Brewer: Brewer scored 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 21 minutes during Denver’s Game 1 win over the Warriors. He didn’t have any rebounds, assists, steals or blocks.

Caron Butler: Butler, who was sidelined by a serious knee injury during the Mavs’ title run, had a terrific Game 1 to help the Clippers blow out the Grizzlies. Butler scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and had a block and a steal in 24 minutes.

A fistful of statistical dribbles to set up the Mavericks home date with Denver on Friday night:

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss the Mavericks playing after being eliminated from playoff contention, who he wants to keep for next season and much more. Listen

As badly as he was hoping to shave late Wednesday night -- only to be foiled by what he described as a “terrible, terrible” loss to Phoenix -- Dirk Nowitzki is playing for something else Friday night: He’s 32 points shy of 25,000 for his career. When he gets there, Dirk will be the 17th member of the 25,000-point club.

Denver has officially supplanted the Mavs as the team with the league's second-longest active playoff streak. This season marks the Nuggets’ 10th straight in the postseason, behind only San Antonio’s 16 in a row.

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The Nuggets, however, have only advanced past the first round once in those previous nine trips to the playoffs. In 2009, Denver made it to the Western Conference finals, beating Dallas in five games in the second round along with way.

Denver arrives in town having become just the second team in history to sweep all three teams from Texas on the same homestand. Phoenix did it in November 2000, and the Nuggets beat Dallas, Houston and San Antonio -- in that order -- earlier this month.

Denver’s JaVale McGee shoots 50.5 percent from the field at home and a whopping 62.6 percent on the road. That’s the league’s biggest such discrepancy, with Mavs alumnus Jason Terry suffering from the opposite sort of gap at 48.7 percent from the field at home in Boston and 37.7 percent on the road.

It's fitting that on the day of his return to Dallas, Jason Terry discussed his hatred for the Heat.

Of course, that subject has been in the spotlight a lot recently, with Jet's declaration that he's not impressed by the Heat's historic win streak and his co-starring role on LeBron James' new poster.

"[It's] not even LeBron personally. It's just the Miami Heat. Is it the red and black? Maybe. I hate that color," Terry told Boston radio station WEEI on Friday. "I just don't like them. Let me tell you like this: It goes back to [the 2006 Finals]. And it doesn't matter who's in those Miami Heat uniforms. Let's just be real: You're up 2-0 and they come back and win four straight games and you lose the NBA Finals. So LeBron inherited something bigger than the matchup of he and I. It's about the Miami Heat and that organization."

Terry readily admitted a personal rivalry with James has blossomed, though.

"Hey, he picked his poison. They put him on me to shut me down in the NBA Finals in 2011 and he couldn't get the job done," Terry said. "Hopefully, he'll have another chance this year in the Eastern Conference finals -- or wherever we match up -- but I'm telling you right now, I love us. I love the way we're built. We miss [Rajon] Rondo, we miss [Jared] Sullinger, but with this team we have, we have a chance."

I wouldn't bet on Boston, but Terry has a history of backing up bold talk against King James.

DALLAS – Jet never really got off the runway during his return to the American Airlines Center.

Jason Terry, the man coach Rick Carlisle refers to as Mavericks royalty, received a standing ovation when he checked into the game but never made much of an impact for the Boston Celtics. Playing in Dallas for the first time since essentially being forced to leave in free agency, Terry was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and had as many turnovers as field goals.

“It was a good feeling, but I was solely locked in on the game,” Terry said of the warm welcome from Mavs fans. “It was good to see everyone, but I’m a Celtic now.”

It’s been a tough week for Terry. People are still buzzing about LeBron James’ and-1 dunk over him Monday. He went scoreless in Wednesday’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets. And he was a nonfactor against his former team, when he had about 100 friends and family members in the stands.

“We have great respect for Jet and what he can do in a game,” Carlisle said. “I think our guys just gave him the respect he deserves and really played him hard. They just tried to make it tough. He got some shots. I’m not going to say we shut him down or anything like that, but guys battled him all night and that’s what we needed to do.”

Terry exchanged postgame hugs with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Carlisle and a few former teammates, but he wasn’t in a good mood after the Celtics’ third straight loss.

“All I was worried about was getting a win,” Terry said. “We have to end this road trip on a good note. Right now we’re just not getting it done.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ bounce-back game:

1. Dirk’s workload: Rick Carlisle considers Dirk Nowitzki’s recent low shot totals “an overblown conversation” – and Dirk concurs -- but the coach posed one question when asked about the subject.

“Did he have more shots than Mike James?” Carlisle said.

Yep:

James – 2-7 FG, seven points, six assists

Dirk – 8-15 FG, 22 points

“That’s good. That’s good,” Carlisle said. “It’s an awareness that we have to have. You guys can all see what happens. When we slow down and start calling plays, teams lock into us. It’s a harder game for us to play because of how we’re set up. We have to have an awareness. We have to involve Dirk in as many things as we possibly can without having to call plays.

“A lot of attention is on the point guards for that, but really it’s a responsibility for everybody on that.”

A big part of it is on Nowitzki, especially when the Mavs succeed at pushing the pace.

“I ran to the box a little more early in transition,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got to do if things are not going well. When our flow is going well and we’re scoring, then I’m fine. We can swing it and pick and roll it. But if I feel like it’s getting into a hole a little bit, then maybe I just have to run to the box and demand the ball a little bit more.”

2. OJ vs. KG?: It’s nothing new for Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett, the league’s premier jaw-jacker, to exchange a little trash talk.

But O.J. Mayo got involved this time, stepping between the two (along with a ref) and telling Garnett, “Back off my man!” Not that Nowitzki noticed.

“He said he had my back,” Dirk said, “but I’ve got to look at the film to make sure he was actually there.”

As far as the KG-Dirk trash talk, Nowitzki called it “nothing” to some of the on-court conversations over the years between the two legends, power forwards who will get to the Hall of Fame with completely different games.

“He’s the man. He’s just a fierce competitor,” Nowitzki said. “We had a few words there, but actually if you go way back, we got into it more than it was today. That was the soft version.”

Nowitzki could have reminded Garnett of their lone playoff meeting, when the Mavs swept the T-Wolves in three games with 23-year-old Dirk putting up 30-15, 31-15 and 39-17, but it didn’t come up in the heat of Friday’s moment.

Mayo (10 points, nine assists) also managed to get the last word on Garnett. After hitting a dagger 3, a mismatched Mayo stole a pass intended for a posted-up Garnett with a little more than a minute remaining, then made sure KG knew about it.

3. Matrix reloaded: Welcome back, Shawn Marion.

After eight games out due to a strained calf, Marion was up to his old tricks, putting up 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 31 minutes. He also was the key to keeping Paul Pierce (16 ponts) in check and guarded St. Patrick’s Day star Jeff Green (10 points) in spots.

“I was able to do a lot of things I normally do,” Marion said.

That’s good news to the Mavs, whose recent rebounding struggles turned around, beating the Celtics by double digits on the glass.

“We missed his abilities as a basketball player,” Carlisle said. “He’s one of our best athletes. His activity is something you can’t duplicate with any other normal player. He’s just a very unique guy.”

 

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks played drastically better defense than in their previous two games and got the ball in the hands of their hot frontcourt duo.

After allowing 113 points in each of the past two games, the Mavs held the Celtics to 41.6 percent shooting. With the way that Dirk Nowitzki and Brandan Wright were working on the offensive end, the Mavs managed to beat a playoff-caliber Boston team.

Nowitzki, whose low shot totals in recent games had been an alarming trend, scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Wright, a surprise starter at center, scored a season-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting.

The different styles of Nowitzki and Wright complemented each other well. Nowitzki, as has been the case for years, did most of his damage with midrange jumpers. The majority of Wright’s buckets came around -– and over -– the rim.

Shawn Marion made his presence felt in his return after missing eight games due to a strained left calf. He posted a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo added 10 points and nine assists, hitting a dagger 3 with 1:21 remaining.

Jason Terry, Nowitzki’s scoring sidekick for eight seasons before signing with the Celtics last summer, was a nonfactor in his return to the American Airlines Center. Terry, who received a standing ovation when he checked into the game in the first quarter, scored only eight points on 3-of-9 shooting.

What it means: The Mavs avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this month. Dallas (33-36) is 8-4 in March, keeping its slim playoff hopes alive. The Mavs are 2½ games out of eighth place in the West standings after the Los Angeles Lakers’ late loss to the Washington Wizards. The Celtics (36-32) fell to seventh in the East, a half-game behind the Chicago Bulls.

Play of the game: Vince Carter threw down an electrifying tomahawk dunk off a backdoor cut in the third quarter. After Carter cut and caught a bounce pass from Chris Kaman, he vaulted off two feet, cocked the ball back and threw it down to give the Mavs a 10-point lead.

Stat of the night: The Mavs never trailed in a game for just the second time this season. The other was a Jan. 14 home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

DALLAS – Jason Terry’s career took off when he improved his game after his first season in Dallas.

Mark Cuban believes the same thing could happen for O.J. Mayo.

“At 25, he’s going to get better,” Cuban said of Mayo. “Much, much better.”

If you just look at the numbers, Mayo’s production this season (16.7 PPG, 4.4 APG) stacks up well to what Terry did throughout his eight-year tenure with the Mavs. The most glaring difference, however, was that Terry developed into a dominant clutch player after an inconsistent first season in Dallas, arriving as a 27-year-old in a trade from Atlanta.

“You just can’t replace his kind of experience,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Terry, who returns to the American Airlines Center tonight with the Celtics.

Mayo has shown he can be a clutch scorer, averaging 27.3 points per 48 minutes this season in clutch situations (last five minutes, score within five points). However, he’s committed way too many turnovers, averaging 3.5 per 48 clutch minutes, a rate that gets alarmingly higher the later close games get.

That’s part of the learning process. And Cuban believes Terry’s development in Dallas should be an example for Mayo.

“They’re completely different players, but I think O.J. can learn a lot from Jet,” Cuban said. “Jet really got better when he became catch and shoot or one dribble and shoot. I think that’s something that O.J. needs to add to his game, and I’ve told that to him.”

Mayo’s work ethic is one thing that can’t be questioned. That’s the primary reason Cuban believes that Mayo, who is extremely likel to exercise his right to be a free agent again this summer, can improve drastically.

“What I love about O.J. is nobody works harder to get better,” Cuban said. “Not just on shooting, which everybody works on, but his knowledge of the game, his dedication to the game. It’s really, really surprised me how committed he is.”

DALLAS -- One day, Jason Terry's No. 31 should hang from the American Airlines Center rafters, somewhere in the vicinity of the championship banner with his name on it.

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss Jason Terry's return to Dallas, why Dirk Nowitzki isn't getting the ball enough at the end of games and much more. Listen

On Friday night, a sellout crowd is expected to give the Boston Celtics’ No. 4 a standing ovation, as a man coach Rick Carlisle refers to as “Mavericks royalty” returns to the AAC for the first time since essentially being forced to leave in free agency this summer.

“I hope they give him a standing ovation,” said owner Mark Cuban, who made a difficult business decision not to match the three-year, $15.7 million deal the Celtics gave Terry, a longtime Dallas fan favorite and friend of Cuban’s. “He deserves it. He’ll be a Maverick for life. He’s part of the family.”

Life will be interrupted for the next three years. Maybe longer, if the 35-year-old Terry accomplishes his goal of playing until he’s 40.

But Cuban has made it clear that the man known as “JET” will be welcomed back into the Mavs organization on a full-time basis once he is done playing ball. Cuban has offered Terry a job in the Mavs’ front office, with the responsibilities to be figured out once the time is right.

“Basketball is a short part of your life, and then there’s the rest of your life," Cuban said. "Hopefully, we’ll be part of JET’s after he retires."

It wasn’t a popular decision to let Steve Nash leave and trade for Terry to replace him, but Terry established himself as a local legend due to his personality and performance during his eight-year tenure with the Mavs.

Terry joined Dirk Nowitzki as the only players on the rosters of both Mavs teams that made Finals trips and played a huge role in knocking out the Miami Heat in 2011. Terry came up huge in the clutch in Games 4 and 5 after publicly doubting whether LeBron James could shut him down the whole series and scored 27 points in the Game 6 clincher. Nowitzki has called his former scoring sidekick, who might as well have been the championship parade marshal with the victory cigar dangling from his mouth, one of the best clutch shooters in the game on countless occasions.

JET was also an unofficial mascot/cheerleader. A generation of Mavs fans grew up imitating the wings he made with his arms after hitting big shots, or really whenever the feeling hit him. Terry cared deeply about connecting with the fans, waving his arms to hype up the crowd and making hundreds of appearances in the community.

“He’s one of the most beloved players, I think, in the history of this franchise because of his personality, his relationship with the fans and the community, and he was a great player,” Carlisle said. “He was a prime-time great player in the clutch. Guys like that always distinguish themselves. It’ll be emotional, I’m sure, for him and the fans and some of us that got to know him well. But we know how good he is, and we’re game-planning for him too.”

Added Nowitzki: “He meant so much to our franchise. Not only on the court, where, to me, he’s one of the best clutch shooters I ever played with, but also off the court. He was a great community man. Every other day, he was doing something, appearances left and right. He’s just a guy with a huge heart. I wish him all the best this season, and hopefully he gets the ovation that he deserves.”

DALLAS – Darren Collison is one of the NBA’s best backup point guards.

That’s a backhanded compliment to a 25-year-old who entered the final season of his rookie contract determined to prove that he was a solid starter in this league.

That, however, is the reality of Collison’s role right now and most likely for the rest of the season. The Mavs are 5-3 since 37-year-old journeyman Mike James became the starting point guard, and coach Rick Carlisle has indicated on several occasions that he believes Collison’s game is best suited for coming off the bench.

Collison accepts his role. That doesn’t mean he embraces it – and it isn’t the ideal situation he’ll search for in free agency this summer.

“In my heart, I know I’m a starter,” Collison said. “I know what I’ve done. As of right now, I’m just trying to help the team win.”

Carlisle emphasizes that he still considers Collison, who was demoted for Derek Fisher earlier this season, to be as important to the team now that he’s a reserve than he was as a starter.

"Even though he’s an off-the-bench guy at this point and time, I view him as one of our starters," Carlisle said. “Much like Jason Terry was for four years here. Jet was one of our better players, but he came off the bench and gave us a lot in that role. We need Darren to do the same thing."

J.J. Barea is probably a better comparison, but you get Carlisle’s point.

Collison’s minutes haven’t seen too steep of a drop since he stopped starting. He averaged 31.1 minutes in 51 starts, compared to 24.8 in the last eight games.

Collison’s production isn’t drastically different in the reserve role, either. He has averaged 12.1 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 49.3 percent from the floor in the last eight games. As a starter, Collison put up 12.6 points and 5.7 assists per game, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor.

The biggest difference: Collison's plus-minus has been plus-51 in the last eight games; it’s minus-101 in his 51 starts.

“I think he’s in his wheelhouse right now,” sixth man Vince Carter said. “He’s very comfortable. And I think he gets the opportunity to kind of analyze the game before he plays it now. The game slows down and he’s playing at a really high level.”

Collison acknowledged that there are some benefits to coming off the bench. He gets to study the flow of the game for the first five minutes, and he typically tries to use his speed and quickness to increase the tempo. Plus, he feels that he has a little more freedom as a reserve.

“As a starter, you kind of want to get everybody involved the first five minutes,” Collison said. “When you come off the bench, everybody’s kind of already had their touches. You want to be a little bit more aggressive coming off the bench.”

Given the choice, Collison wants to be a starter. But that’s not an option in Dallas right now. Whether it is somewhere else will be determined in the free-agency market this summer.

DALLAS – Over and over again, O.J. Mayo has accepted accountability for his prominent role in the Mavericks’ late-game woes.

It’s gotten to the point that Mayo seems to have run out of words while standing up and answering questions in the locker room after a close loss.

“I’ve just to take care of the ball better,” Mayo said after coughing up two critical turnovers in the final 23.9 seconds of Monday’s 105-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

That, unfortunately, is a major understatement.

Mayo’s poor ball security in crunch time isn’t the only reason the Mavs have had such a miserable time closing games this season, but it’s a pretty good place to start the list. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Mayo has been the NBA’s sloppiest ball-handler with games on the line this season.

The painful facts, according to the NBA’s advanced stats: Mayo leads the league in turnovers when the score is within one possession in the final two minutes of games this season. And the final minute in such situations. And the final 30 seconds. And the final 10 seconds.

PODCAST
Has the time come for the Mavericks to take the ball out of O.J. Mayo's hands at the end of games? Coop and Nate discuss. Listen

Making matters worse, Mayo’s turnover rate gets progressively higher as the clock ticks down in close games. He has eight turnovers in the final two minutes of one-possession games, a span of 48 minutes. Six of those have come in the final minute of games (11.5 per 48 minutes), five have come in the final 30 seconds (18.5 per 48 minutes) and three have come in the final 10 seconds (28.8 per 48 minutes).

“We’re going to continue to work at it,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “This has been an unusual year for him. He’s had to learn an awful lot because he’s been thrust into the position of being the leading scorer and one of our important playmakers. And so you’re going to have some of these situations.

“The thing I love about O.J. is that he’s resilient and he’s prideful and he bounces back. He’ll bounce back.”

The hope is that Mayo learns from his mistakes. He has earned the respect of his teammates with his attitude and work ethic, enduring harsh film sessions with Carlisle and frequently picking the brains of veterans such as Vince Carter, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki who have significant closing experience.

“He’s a winner,” said Carter, the target of Mayo's errant pass that essentially sealed the Mavs' loss to the Hawks. “He wants to win. He hates to lose. Sometimes I think he’ll do too much for that reason, because he just wants to win. There again, that’s the beauty of having film and being able to see the good and the bad and learn from that.”

Yes, there has been a lot of good from Mayo in crunch time this season. In fact, only Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Garnett have scored more clutch points than Mayo’s 87, using the NBA’s definition of the final five minutes when the score is within five points.

Mayo’s final-minute scoring numbers in one-possession games: 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes.

As Nowitzki works his ways back into form, the Mavs can and should run their crunch-time offense through the future Hall of Famer much more often. However, they need Mayo to at least be an effective complementary threat, meaning that he’ll continue to have decision-making duties down the stretch, much like Jason Terry over the previous eight years. (Terry, by the way, had only five turnovers in the final minute of one-possession games over his last six seasons with the Mavs.)

“He’s one of our really important scorers, so the ball’s going to be in his hands,” Carlisle said. “And he’s going to have to make decisions. He’s going to have to do it.

“He’s gotten so much better that a night like (Monday) night can tend to cloud that and skew it to some degree. But he’s a young player that loves the game. He’s a competitor and he wants these challenges. That’s why he came here.

“My job is to make sure that he gets better and not just take those challenges and responsibilities off his plate. That would not be doing our team or him justice.”

BOSTON -- This is just another game for Jason Terry.

He admits, however, that his emotions will be on high March 22. That’s when Jet will make his first trip to Dallas in a Celtics uniform.

“'Cause then you've got the fans involved,” Terry said before Wednesday’s Celtics-Mavs game. “And I know they'll be watching tonight, but it's a lot different when you're on the court and you're in that arena again. So, tonight is going to be good, I'll see everybody and say what's up, but again in March, when we go back on the 22nd, it's going to be special."

Terry has no hard feelings about the Mavs’ business decision to not make a competitive offer in an attempt to keep him. He still emails Mark Cuban occasionally and has also maintained good relationships with his former Mavs coaches and teammates.

Terry also intends to take Cuban up on his offer to return to the Mavs after his playing days in a position to be determined.

“Dallas is still my home base, so I definitely want to be a part of the Mavericks organization, which I am a Maverick in my heart,” Terry said.

The 35-year-old Terry believes he has “several good years” left in him as a player. He signed a three-year deal with Boston, and he could envision himself returning to Dallas to finish his career before joining the Mavs’ front office.

“That’s definitely not out of the question,” Terry said. “All options are open, but again, everything we did in Dallas was special obviously. I’ll always remember. That lasting memory for me wasn’t last year’s season with the lockout. It was what we accomplished in 2011, winning a championship for that city, for that organization.”

*Mavs coach Rick Carlisle played his first three NBA seasons in Boston, serving as a bench player for the 1986 title team.

“The one thing I feel good about is that I know that my number will be retired here one day,” Carlisle said with a straight face.

Carlisle wore No. 34 for the Celtics, scoring 446 points during his tenure in Boston. Paul Pierce, the Celtics’ current No. 34, entered the night 25 points shy of 23,000 for his career.

*Mark Cuban's tongue-in-cheek take on DeMarcus Cousins' one-game suspension for a low blow on O.J. Mayo: "It seems a little light in the pants."

*Mavs forward Jae Crowder (illness) will not play against the Celtics. He is resting at the team hotel and will rejoin the Mavs for the flight to Toronto.

BOSTON – There will probably be some pregame hugs for Jason Terry.

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Terry has moved on in Boston, averaging 11.4 points as a Celtics starter, but he’ll always be considered a Maverick by many. And he’ll certainly always be a champion, having played a huge role in the Mavs’ 2011 title run.

“He was special obviously,” said Mark Cuban, who laughed when he recalled refusing to approve a trade that would have sent Terry to Utah for Raul Lopez during his first year in Dallas. “He got off to a rough start, but he just worked all the time and we wouldn’t have had our ring without him. He caught a lot of grief, and he just kept on working harder and harder and harder.

“People blamed him when we didn’t win in the playoffs, but when it came time to shine, he shined. So you can’t say enough great things about Jet.”

Added coach Rick Carlisle: “Jet was an all-time great Mav. I have no doubt his number will be in the rafters at some point. Eight years with one franchise, a championship, the sacrifice he showed being willing to be a sixth man, basically a starter coming off the bench and giving the team that unusual, unique kind of punch just makes him a special kind of person and special kind of player.”

But this isn’t about warm, fuzzy feelings. This is a business trip for the Mavs, who are trying to win four consecutive games for the first time this season.

Records: Mavs (11-10); Celtics (11-9)

When: 7:00 p.m.

Where: TD Garden

TV: ESPN/FSSW

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

What to watch: Can the Mavs sustain their success in this building? They’ve won their last three games at the TD Garden. Of course, Dirk Nowitzki had a lot to do with that, averaging 27.3 points in those games. The Mavs haven’t had much success against quality teams this season, with a 1-7 record vs. foes with a record of .500 or better.

Key matchup: Derek Fisher/Darren Collison vs. Rajon Rondo – If Rondo isn’t the best point guard in the NBA, it doesn’t take long to get to his name on the roll call. He’s easily leading the league in assists with 12.8 per game and also averages 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Rondo actually struggled against Collison last season, scoring only 17 points on 36.4 shooting in 93 minutes when they were both on the floor, with the Pacers outscoring the Celtics by 11 in that time. On the other hand, Rondo torched Fisher for 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting in 49 minutes (plus-13 for Celtics).

Injuries: Mavs – PF Dirk Nowitzki (knee) is out. F Jae Crowder (illness) is questionable. F Shawn Marion (groin) is playing. Celtics – G Avery Bradley (shoulder) is out.

Up next: at Toronto Raptors, 6 p.m. Friday

WALTHAM , Mass. -- Jason Terry did his best to downplay it after the Boston Celtics practiced on Tuesday, but there's no denying that, on some level, Wednesday's matchup with the Dallas Mavericks will mean just a little bit more to him than the average game.

Terry spent eight years in Dallas, but the Mavericks didn't make a full-court press to keep his services when he became a free agent last summer. As All-Stars Deron Williams and Dwight Howard held their gaze, the Mavs seemed pretty content to let Terry walk. And when Celtics coach Doc Rivers called him as soon as the clock struck midnight of the free agency period, it was pretty clear that Boston would be Terry's next destination.

Terry likely anticipated the Dallas-related questions that were thrown his way by reporters, and he did his best to keep the emphasis on his current team.

"Right now, we're just concerned about us and stringing together some games," Terry said. "We've won one, lost one, won one. We've got to put together three, four, five games in a row. So that's where our focus is right now. Dallas just happens to be the next opponent, and hopefully we can put together a string. That'll be two in a row for us.

"They've got the same team name, but it's not the same team," Terry continued. "Obviously that was last year, we didn't have the same team or we'd probably still be there. It's a totally different ballclub. Dirk [Nowitzki's] not even in uniform, Shawn Marion might not be out there, so those are the guys I won a championship with and they're not there.

"Definitely a different team, but same name. [Coach Rick] Carlisle is there, he'll be on the sideline, so that'll be emotional for me. I'll go up, give him a good hug. I miss him, he's definitely a good friend, one of the greatest coaches I've ever played for. But anything other than that, maybe if Tyson Chandler was over there, if Jason Kidd was over there, then it would be something extra special. But, honestly, it's really not."

For more on Terry's first matchup against his former team, click here.