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How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks never trailed against the Portland Trail Blazers. It still wasn’t pretty in Portland.

The Mavs didn’t exactly throw a knockout punch against a poor team playing without All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who is out for the season after undergoing hip surgery. The Mavs played a sloppy, turnover-plagued fourth quarter that allowed the Blazers to rally, mounting a 12-0 run to make the visitors sweat down the stretch.

But the Mavs survived for their third straight win since ridding their locker room of Lamar Odom.

The Mavs opened the game with a 9-0 run and never relinquished the lead at the Rose Garden. Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs’ lone All-Star, scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter while the Mavs established a 14-point lead. Nowitzki finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

Delonte West ran the show with Jason Kidd resting and Rodrigue Beaubois suffering a strained right calf in the second half. West had 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds while logging 44 minutes. The blemish on West’s impressive all-around performance was his six turnovers.

Shawn Marion had 17 points and 14 rebounds, one board shy of his season high.

Brandan Wright, who played the majority of the minutes at center, had 13 points and eight rebounds. He also broke up an alley-oop attempt to J.J. Hickson that would have cut the Mavs’ lead to a bucket with a little less than a minute ago.

What it means: The Mavs are in sole possession of sixth place in the West by a relatively comfortable margin. They are up a game and a half on the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets -- both Friday night losers -- and own the tiebreakers over both teams.

Bold play of the game: West drove down the middle and threw down a two-hand dunk in the final minute of the first half, sending an excruciating bolt of pain up his surgically repaired right ring finger. That play was part of an 11-2 run for the Mavs to finish the first half, a fine response to the Trail Blazers slicing the lead to single digits.

Stat of the night: Marion recorded his third double-double in four games and his fourth consecutive double-digit rebounding game. Marion, the shortest player in the league leading his team in rebounding, has averaged 12.8 boards per game in that span.

The Mavericks have had a strange knack for playing down to their competition, especially on the road.

The Mavs are only 4-5 on the road against teams that currently own a losing record this season. Only two teams in the league, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, have a lower winning percentage in those games than Dallas: Charlotte (2-11, .154) and Sacramento (3-9, .250).

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Dallas has lost at Cleveland, Sacramento, Golden State, Minnesota and New Orleans -- with three of those losses coming during the Mavs' 2-7 stretch out of the All-Star break. A win at just one of those stops, let alone two or three, and the Mavs aren't in the playoff predicament they are now with seven games to go.

Tonight's game at Portland, which has split a pair of games at Dallas, is imperative with Houston, Phoenix, Denver and Utah also in action. The Trail Blazers are just playing out the season and will do so without LaMarcus Aldridge, who will have season-ending hip surgery. J.J. Hickson will replace Aldridge, who averaged 29.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in the first two games against Dallas.

"We don’t talk about the standings very often, but our guys are basketball guys. They watch games, they know where things are at and we’ve been talking about playoff mode now for two weeks," coach Rick Carlisle said. "It’s a must and the pressure that comes with that is a good thing. It’s the kind of pressure that you like. It brings you to higher levels and we embrace it. We embraced it last year in the playoffs and it got us a ring. Right now, we’re not looking just to get in, we’re looking to move up."

Records: Mavs (33-26); Trail Blazers (28-31)

Where: Rose Garden

TV: ESPN, FSSW

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

What to watch: Jason Kidd played 33 minutes Thursday night because the Mavs allowed a depleted Golden State team to climb within three points in the fourth quarter after being down by as many as 19. Without Aldridge and Nicolas Batum ailing, the Mavs have a great opportunity to again jump out to a sizable lead. If they do, can they hold this time and allow Kidd -- and Dirk Nowitzki -- to rest up for Sunday's early afternoon tip in Los Angeles against the Lakers?

Key matchup: Raymond Felton vs. Mavs guards
In Portland's overtime win in Dallas a week ago, Felton lit up anyone who tried to guard him, knocking down 12-of-18 shots and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. He finished with 30 points to reach that threshold for the only time this season. Jamal Crawford is more likely to be the guard to go off for 30, but if the Mavs let Felton heat up, especially if Crawford is on too, it can be a long night at a revved up Rose Garden where the Blazers are 20-11.

Injuries: Mavs -- None. Blazers -- F LaMarcus Aldridge (right hip) is out; F Nicolas Batum (left quad) is probable; G Elliot Williams (right shoulder) is out.

Up next: Mavs at Los Angeles Lakers, 2:30 p.m. Sunday

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.

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki was a heck of a tennis player while growing up in Germany, but the dude never played a down of quarterback.

That was painfully obvious by the terrible full-court pass Nowitzki threw out of bounds with 22 seconds remaining in overtime Friday night.

Shawn Marion was wide-open for what would have been a go-ahead breakaway dunk or layup. However, Nowitzki’s pass was about 15 feet off the mark. It sailed into the seats, setting up the Trail Blazers to take the last shot, which Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge drilled at the buzzer to beat Dallas.

“It was just a brutal play,” Nowitzki said. “What happened was I got the rebound and really wanted to hold it for the last shot. I looked up and he was just wide open. I tried to rush it to him and it just completely got away from me. It was just kind of like an instinct play.

“When you look up and see a guy open, you want to give him the ball. I just over-rushed it and completely overthrew it. I should have just held it and gone for the last shot like I wanted to. But sometimes in the game you make decisions in a split-second, and that was definitely the wrong one.”

DALLAS – Sometimes all you can do is give credit to the other guy.

That was the case for big man Brendan Haywood after Portland’s All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge hit an overtime buzzer-beater to beat the Dallas Mavericks in front of an American Airlines Center sellout crowd that included several of the Seagoville product's friends and family members.

“You make a 6-11 guy take a one-dribble pull-up shot. He hit it,” said Haywood, whose lateral movement is still affected by the sprained right knee that caused him to miss seven games and requires him to wear a bulky brace. “Tip your hat and get ready for the next game tomorrow.”

With 3.7 seconds remaining, Aldridge caught the ball outside the 3-point arc on the left side of the floor, took one hard dribble to his right to get to the elbow and launched a 17-foot stepback that swished through the net, framed by the red light of the backboard.

“It was so fast, they couldn’t scheme me on that,” said Aldridge, who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. “I just popped to the ball, got to my spot and shot it real quick.”

It was an All-Star moment for Aldridge. Although point guard Raymond Felton played his best game in a Portland uniform, scoring a season-high 30 points, there was never any question about who the Trail Blazers were going to go to with the game on the line.

“We’re going to LaMarcus,” Trail Blazers coach Kaleb Canales said. “LaMarcus hit a big shot. Big-time player, big-time shot.”

Nothing the Mavs’ big man could do about it.

DALLAS -- It's been a rough day for Delonte West's left ankle.

He has turned the ankle twice today. His status was in question after he stepped on a basketball during shootaround, but he had a productive first half, scoring six points and dishing out two assists in 12 minutes.

Then West turned the ankle again, walking slowly into the locker room after suffering the injury in the final minute of the first half.

West landed awkwardly on his left foot after a nice drive past Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge for a layup. He stayed down on the baseline for several seconds and limped into the tunnel with a trainer behind him after getting up.

UPDATE: West returned for the second half.

DALLAS -- Consistency. Can the Dallas Mavericks capture it?

With the right effort they certainly should tonight against a Portland Trail Blazers team that has no concept of the word. A supposed championship contender at the start of the season, Portland instead fired coach Nate McMillan and unloaded players such as Gerald Wallace at the trade deadline.

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They haven't won consecutive games since Jan. 23 and 24.

This game has little do with the Blazers and everything to do with the Mavs putting forth the effort of a champion in a game they must have against a lottery-bound team on their home floor on the first night of a back-to-back (at Memphis on Saturday).

"The focus has got to be on game plan and playing at full capacity," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "That's what we're shooting for tonight, tomorrow night and going forward. Look, we've had a lot of good efforts, Monday (against the Clippers) was not a good effort, so tonight we've got to put two in a row together."

That's something Dallas has done just four times going back to mid-February.

Records: Blazers (26-29); Mavs (31-24)

Where: American Airlines Center

TV: FSSW

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

What to watch: Defense. Can the Mavs bring it from the tip in the finale of this three-game homestand? In the first two games they could not. The Clippers and Grizzlies outscored the Mavs 98-80 in the first halves and combined to shoot 53 percent from the floor (44-of-83).

Key matchup: LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Brendan Haywood
The Seagoville native knows he'll see a variety of defenders on him tonight including Brandan Wright, Ian Mahinmi and probably even Shawn Marion, especially if things are tight late. But, Haywood will have first crack at the first-time All-Star, who has put up some fine numbers against his hometown team. Aldridge averaged 27.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in the regular-season series last year against Dallas and in the only meeting earlier this season, he had 33 points on 14-of-26 shooting and 12 rebounds.

Injuries: Blazers -- F Shawne Williams (left foot) is out; G Elliot Williams (left shoulder) is out. Mavs -- G Jason Kidd (strained right groin) is out.

Up next: Mavs at Memphis Grizzlies, 7 p.m. Saturday

After playing just three games last week, it's back to the unforgiving grindstone for the Dallas Mavericks, who embark on what could be a monumental week with four intriguing games, three at home and three against two teams the Mavs are sandwiched between.

By the time this slate ends Saturday night at Memphis, Dallas will have nine games remaining. Opportunity is abundant ahead of them in the West standings, but peril also lurks below.

The question is, which way will the Mavs, precariously perched at No. 5, go?

"We got a huge week here,” coach Rick Carlisle said. "We’ve got to pick our game up and we’ve got to be good at home. There’s a lot to be decided. This week is going to go a long way toward a lot of those scenarios. The Clippers have been a quality, high-level team all year. Like everybody, they’ve had their ups and downs. But they’re a tough matchup for us."

With two days off after their stirring, 15-point turnabout at Orlando that officially ushered Delonte West back into the mix, will the Mavs be able to carry momentum into tonight's game against the curious Los Angeles Clippers? Vinny Del Negro remains the head coach. Since the stories of internal grumbling hit, L.A., the No. 4 seed and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mavs, has won five in a row.

The equally mysterious Memphis Grizzlies, a team that has Zach Randolph back but has won just four of its last 10 and has been awful on the road, are next up Wednesday. The No. 6-seeded Grizz begin the week a spot behind the Mavs in the standings, but actually with one fewer loss.

However, this is a doozy of a week for Memphis and tough timing for this matchup because it's the last of a dreaded back-to-back-to-back that starts at Oklahoma City on Monday then back to Memphis on Tuesday for Golden State and then on to Dallas (and it doesn't get better for the Grizzlies for Saturday's rematch in Memphis, see below).

The Mavs on Friday get the woebegone Trail Blazers, who come into Dallas having fired their coach and shuffled their deck, and with a 7-19 road record heading into the week.

These three home games mark half of what's left on the home schedule, meaning if the Mavs don't take care of business -- and they're just 19-8 at the AAC -- then playoff seeding and perhaps even just making the postseason will have to be secured on the road -- where they're a head-scratching 11-15.

With that, here's a look at this big week ahead:

Today: vs. Los Angeles Clippers (31-21), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Clips have lost 10 in a row in Dallas, including a 96-92 decision on Feb. 13. That was one of just four games the Mavs have won when trailing after three quarters. Caron Butler narrowly missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with five seconds left after Jason Kidd made an uncharacteristic turnover. The Clippers' string of five consecutive wins all came at home. They haven't played on the road since March 22 and haven't won the road since March 9, but it was a big one, 120-109 at San Antonio. The best news for Dallas is that West is back in the rotation and should give Shawn Marion a break from chasing around Chris Paul. L.A., just 11-13 on the road, didn't play Sunday after sweeping a back-to-back Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday: vs. Memphis Grizzlies (28-22), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Zach is back but he isn't quite yet all that. The Memphis big man has played nine games since tearing the MCL in his right knee on Jan. 1. He put up 25 points and nine rebounds in his return against Toronto, but since he's averaged 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds while the team has gone just 4-5. Still, no one is going to want this bunch in the first round. The Grizz won easily in Memphis at the end of February and make their one and only appearance in Dallas this season. They've won three in a row in this series and seven of 11. Their size with Randolph and skilled center Marc Gasol are not only a problem on the defensive end, but Memphis can use both massive bodies to blanket Dirk Nowitzki.

Friday: vs. Portland Trail Blazers (25-28), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The last time the Blazers rolled through town, native son LaMarcus Aldridge was a freshly minted All-Star, Nate McMillan still had a job and Portland was still considered by some to be a title contender. Dallas won that Feb. 11 meeting in double overtime with a boost from West coming in cold for the second overtime as coach Carlisle pulled Kidd in the name of minute management. Who knows what to expect from the Blazers, who are just three games out of a playoff spot, this time around? They're 5-5 in their last 10 and took the Clippers to the buzzer before falling Friday night. One thing the Mavs can't do is sleep on this team or else it will be an angry flight to Memphis.

Saturday: at Memphis Grizzlies (28-22), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The standings could look much different by the time this game is played (see above) with the weeks these two teams have. And if you think the Grizzlies will be more rested for this one than they were in Wednesday's game in Dallas, don't be too sure. After playing Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, Memphis is back at it Friday night -- at Miami.

Mavericks center Brendan Haywood is ready to return from a sprained right knee, but he expects to wait one more day to play.

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Haywood said during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Ben and Skin Show that the tentative plan is to wait until Friday night's game against All-NBA center Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. Haywood has missed the last six games entering tonight's Finals rematch against the Miami Heat.

"I think the training staff is leaning toward having me play tomorrow, because with it being a back-to-back and us playing Dwight in Orlando tomorrow, I think they really want me out there more that game than this game," Haywood said. "In your first game back from injury, it’s tough to come back on a back-to-back. I think right now, I could probably play tonight, but I think they’re leaning toward holding me out and having me play tomorrow, get my minutes and have a couple days rest and then play the next game."

Haywood's work will be cut out for him upon his return. After defending Howard, his defensive assignments next week will be the Clippers' Blake Griffin, the Grizzlies' Marc Gasol and/or Zach Randolph (twice) and the Trail Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge.

DALLAS -- The NBA has issued the Defensive Player of the Year award since the 1982-83 season. In the 1988-89 season the league might as well have renamed it the Defensive Big Man of the Year award.

Five of the six first winners were guards as diminutive as 6-foot-3 Sidney Moncrief, who won the first two. But when 7-foot-4 Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton, the only big man to sneak in during those first six seasons, won it again in '89, it started a run in which a power forward or center won it in 21 of the next 23 seasons. A center has won it 17 times and in 13 of the last 15 seasons.

The lone small forward ever to be named Defensive Player of the Year was the formerly named Ron Artest on Rick Carlisle's 2003-04 Indiana Pacers.

Is a second one lurking?

The Dallas Mavericks certainly think so. Owner Mark Cuban has trumpeted the tireless work of 6-foot-7 veteran Shawn Marion for more than a month. Carlisle has not been far behind. On Friday night, with Marion missing his third and final game with a sore left knee likely caused to a large degree by his maxed-out defensive responsibilities, Carlisle said Marion is "probably the Defensive Player of the Year this year."

On Monday, Carlisle upped the ante: "I think he’s a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year because of his versatility and because of his impact on our team. We lose [Tyson] Chandler and we’re still the No. 1 defensive team in the Western Conference on points per possession. That doesn’t happen without Marion and what he’s doing guarding multiple positions."

The operative word is "multiple." Marion has always been the man to defend top opposing wings like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. This season, particularly when guard Delonte West was lost to a fractured finger on Feb. 15, Marion became Mr. Everything to a defense that had already lost its heart and soul from the championship team in Chandler -- the third-place finisher in last season's DPOY voting -- and plugged in newcomers and somehow just kept on ticking.

"We’re the No. 1 defensive team in the Western Conference largely because of how he’s guarded guys individually," Carlisle said. "He always has the best player, and a lot of times he’ll have a guy like [Ty] Lawson or like [Goran] Dragic, who’s a key guy not only scoring, but getting other guys involved. He’s just been phenomenal."

During the stretch from West's injury to the All-Star break, the 33-year-old Marion was tasked with chasing, in order: Lawson, Ricky Rubio, 6-foot-11 power forward and All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Paul, Lawson again, Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams, Jeremy Lin, Paul Pierce and finally Kobe Bryant.

And throughout this physically demanding shortended season, Marion's assignments read like an NBA who's who list, from Deron Williams and Steve Nash to Paul Millsap and Michael Beasley; from Manu Ginobili and Russell Westbrook to Caron Butler and Carmelo Anthony.

Of all those offensive weapons, advanced analytics, which make it possible to break down matchups possession by possession, tell us that Marion's opponents have shot 34 percent against him.

Take Kobe as just one example. In two games, Marion held the league's leading scorer to an average of 14.5 points on less than 28 percent shooting. In last Wednesday's game against the Lakers in which Marion's knee kept him out, Kobe hit for 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting (61.1 percent).

On Monday, Marion mostly deflected credit while processing his coach's praise.

"That speaks a lot about me and my teammates because it’s not just one person out there, it’s all of us collectively," Marion said. "So, hey, I’m just doing what I got to do to help the team the best way I can."

Marion's performance this season might be the closest thing to former Seattle guard Gary Payton, the only other non-big man to win the award in 1995-96. Payton, like Marion, could seemingly bounce from defending either guard position to either forward position without flinching. Remarkably, Marion's presence has made the Mavs' five-man unit -- and all-30-somethings -- that includes Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood the No. 1 defensive lineup in the league.

Of course, it's easy to understand why power forwards, and particularly centers, have dominated this award. Blocked shots and rebounding and team scoring averages are in your face to see and tally up and measure against other players and teams. While clearly centers can be great defenders -- and there's a long list of them -- so much of a center's job comes in the form of help defense and not the grinding, every possession work of a mano-a-mano, on-ball defensive stopper such as Marion.

"It is what it is," Marion said. "It’s sad sometimes that people don’t really sit back and really look at what you’re doing sometimes. But it is what it is. I just got to continue to do what I got to do."

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard leads the NBA in rebounds (14.8 per game) and is tied for second in total blocked shots with 108, numbers that dwarf Marion's 6.9 rebounds and 26 blocked shots, and the Magic rank fourth in the NBA in scoring defense. A massive, 6-foot-11 specimen who patrols the paint with humbling ferocity, Howard is a leading candidate to win the award for a fourth consecutive season. Only Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo lay claim to four trophies, but neither did it four years in a row.

Marion has never even been selected to an all-defensive team, although he probably should have been at some point during his eight full seasons playing on those high-powered Phoenix Suns squads.

"At the time where I was doing it before, we scored so many damn points, didn’t nobody care," Marion said. "They wanted to focus on something else."

Marion's defensive run with Dallas really started last season and began to gain recognition during the playoffs when he bounced from Gerald Wallace, Brandon Roy and Aldridge to Kobe to Westbrook and Durant and finally to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

So maybe if Marion's capable of continuing this level of 'D' for another 16 games, just maybe the focus will turn to a small forward doing one big defensive job.

"It’s what it’s about," Marion said of being in the DPOY conversation. "Everybody’s got personal goals that you want to accomplish throughout your career and legacies that you want to leave behind. I think that would definitely be a great piece to it."

Mark Cuban was hoping for, oh, three minutes for his superstar, but he'll be happy with the 14 minutes Dirk Nowitzki logged jogging up and down Dwight Howard's home floor -- tick, tick, tick -- in Sunday night's All-Star Game.

In his 11th consecutive appearance as a West reserve, Nowitzki put up seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in the West's hang-on, 152-149 victory. True to his regular season, he wasn't feeling it from 3-point range, banging in just one of five attempts from downtown. He missed his first two in the first quarter, when he logged nearly half his total time.

Nowitzki would not be seen again until midway through the third quarter. He nailed his only 3-point attempt of the period and fed Tony Parker for a reverse layup, his lone assist of the game. He also finished with four rebounds, including two offensive boards.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant took home MVP honors having scored 36 points and his coach, West coach Scott Brooks, wasn't shy about playing his superstar, leaving him in for a game-high 37 minutes.

And Dirk seemed perfectly content playing what he did and cheering on his fellow All-Stars. After all, if Charles Barkley is right, Dirk doesn't have many of these left. Still, he was clearly enjoying himself if you couldn't tell by his towel-waving after Blake Griffin's monster dunk late in the fourth.

He enjoyed it enough to even share a postgame embrace with -- cough, cough -- Dwyane Wade, who recorded only the third triple-double in All-Star history.

Parker, Marc Gasol, Steve Nash, starting center Andrew Bynum and first-timer LaMarcus Aldridge all played fewer minutes than Nowitzki as the other four starters and reserve guard Russell Westbrook, one of Brooks' OKC boys, took on the heavy minutes.

Nowitzki heads back to Dallas for a 2:30 p.m. practice Monday as the Mavs begin the final 32 games of the season at home Tuesday against the New Jersey Nets.

Is Dirk Nowitzki excited for the All-Star Game or what?!

“Uh,” Nowitzki said before a pregnant pause, “yeah.”

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Bill Simmons and Joe House talk with Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki about All-Star weekend, Tyson Chandler and much more. Listen

Can’t beat that kind of enthusiasm, huh?

Nowitzki appreciates the West coaches respecting him enough to vote for him to be invited to his 11th consecutive All-Star Game, although he continues to acknowledge that there were more deserving candidates at the time the reserves were selected. Nowitzki also admits that he wouldn’t have minded getting the long weekend off.

“I mean, it’s tough, especially since we have nine games in 12 days coming up,” Nowitzki said. “But I think the good thing is we’ve got a lot of young guys on the team -- [LaMarcus] Aldridge first time, [Kevin] Love second time, Blake [Griffin] first time. Those guys are out there on the floor to play. I think I’m going to play spot minutes. I’m going to make the best of it and have a fun weekend down there.”

Yes, Nowitzki is pretty much lobbying to sit on the pine. He has averaged about 19 minutes in his previous 10 All-Star appearances and would be just fine if that total is cut in half.

“For sure,” Nowitzki said.

DALLAS -- Caron Butler nearly put the final dagger in his former team. He had been landing darts all night. This 3-pointer for the win from the right wing looked dead-on, but skipped off the front of the rim.

“It felt real good. I got my feet up under me, followed through, it was a routine shot, just fell a little short," Butler said after registering a season-high 23 points in the 96-92 loss with his new team, the Los Angeles Clippers. "It would have been a great ending to the game."

It was an emotional night all the way around for Butler, who has clearly worked himself all the way back from the devastating knee injury that ended his season a year ago New Year's Day, and forced him to become the hardest-working bystander on the Mavs' title team. Monday night was his first time back in Dallas since the parade and the Mavs presented him with the diamond-encrusted championship ring during a brief pre-game ceremony.

Coach Rick Carlisle introduced Butler to the sellout crowd by sharing the story that he hates happened, but loves to tell -- about when Butler ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee and crumpled to the floor in Milwaukee, how he somehow managed to shove his exploded kneecap back in place and walk off the floor under his own power so his mother and other family members attending from nearby Racine wouldn't watch him leave on a stretcher.

"At that moment," Carlisle told the crowd, "the guy was a legend for life, for me."

Butler accepted his ring, held it up to the fans and tightly embraced Carlisle and owner Mark Cuban.

“I was in a good place. I was in a real good place," Butler said. "It felt good, I just really wanted to come back and step on this floor, one way or another and just show the fans that I was back healthy. There was a lot of love out there, and I appreciate that because they got me through a trying time last year.”

The Clippers will be back in April, but this trip to the club that he played just 56 of his 613 career games, but now shares a lifetime bond, served as the final act of his rehabilitation. And if receiving the ring wasn't enough, the Mavs production staff broke out Butler's popular Old Spice spoof and showed it on the video boards during a timeout.

Clippers players turned to watch, tapping teammates on the shoulder to get them to look above. Laughter broke out everywhere. Coming out of the timeout, Butler smiled and waved his arms in appreciation to the cheering crowd as he walked back onto the floor.

"It felt good," Butler said. "I just really wanted to come back and step on this floor, one way or another and just show the fans that I was back healthy. There was a lot of love out there, and I appreciate that because they got me through a trying time last year.”

Here's three more thoughts from Monday's game and with the Denver Nuggets on the way:

1. Dirk goes sleeveless: The sleeve Dirk Nowitzki has worn on his right knee most of the season was gone Monday night in perhaps what was another sign that he's back. And after the game, Nowitzki said he is all the way back, 100 percent. His shot didn't look for much of Monday's win. He finished just 5-of-15 and 2-of-7 in the fourth quarter when he still managed to score 11 of his team-high 22 points. In the last two games, Nowitzki is 12-of-35 from the floor after that blazing stretch, but he also gone to the free throw line 21 times.

2. More Brendan Haywood: Not only is owner Mark Cuban campaigning for Shawn Marion to be recognized as a top defender in the league, he also was signing the praises of starting center Brendan Haywood, who has successfully taken over Tyson Chandler's job as the backbone of a very good defense. Haywood has defended well in back-to-back games even though LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin finished games with good-looking stats. Nothing came easily for either with the larger Haywood contesting. Against the Clippers on Monday, Haywood also put up a team-high 10 points and six rebounds in the first quarter.

3. Key goals attained: The Mavs had several goals against the Los Angeles Clippers and they attained most, if not all. First, they wanted to slow down L.A.'s typically fast starts. They did, holding the Clippers to 19 first-quarter points on 36.8 shooting. It was a continuation of the Mavs' quick starts. After committing 41 turnovers in the previous two games, Dallas limited those to 11 for just 10 Clippers points. Meanwhile, the Mavs cashed in 22 points on 21 L.A. turnovers. Dallas lost the rebounding battle, 50-36, but had the edge in points in the paint (40-34) and fastbreak points (22-16). And perhaps the biggest goal attained was the victory while no Mavs player logged more than 32 minutes.

DALLAS -- Lamar Odom's performances as a Dallas Maverick have been so underwhelming this season that on those nights when he shows a pulse, plays with a purpose and contributes to a victory, it gets bear-hug treatment from coach Rick Carlisle.

So when Odom played 23 minutes Saturday night with confidence, attacked and knocked down shots, contributing 10 points, five rebounds and no turnovers (and truth be told he was robbed of at least a pair of assists) in the wild 97-94 double overtime victory against Portland, Carlisle ranked the performance among the forward's best.

"I thought Lamar Odom played one of his best games of the year tonight," Carlisle said. "He had great energy, he was attacking, he was into the game. Dirk had some struggles early in the third, we went to Lamar, he made a couple big plays, hit a 3, it was stuff that kept us going during a tough spot."

At the 7:11 mark of third quarter, Nowitzki fouled Gerald Wallace for and-1, didn't like the call, made his feelings about it known and got hit with a technical. He sat down for the next five-plus minutes with Portland scraping and scrambling to try to get back in the game.

Odom immediately drained a 3-pointer and Vince Carter followed with his own to balloon the lead back to 14. Odom hit another 3 with 8:51 to go that increased a shrinking six-point lead to nine. Moments earlier he put a spin move on Nicolas Batum and put it in off the glass.

"I think right now it's important for me to play well and give the big fella a little bit of a break without us falling off too much. And when I say the big fella, I mean Dirk," Odom said. "He deserves a rest and deserves to be able to come out of the game and for the team not too fall off too much."

Odom finished 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 in the second half when the Mavs needed it most.

"My body is getting back to where it needs to be," Odom said. "I feel a lot more comfortable and confident making moves. And not just making a move, but coming up out of the move, making a move or two and getting out of it and being explosive, being able to share the ball and make the right basketball play.

"Now, If I could hit a free throw then I'll be able to finish these games."

Odom, 0-of-2 at the line and shooting a woeful 57.5 percent on the season, might not be closing out games anyway. He won't be bumping Dirk Nowitzki out of the lineup, and Shawn Marion, who grabbed five of his team-high 12 rebounds in the second overtime, certainly won't go quietly.

But it's one step at a time, and on Saturday night Odom took another one.

Here's three more things to consider after the Mavs won their third in a row to move back to a season-high six games over .500:

1. Big Brendan Haywood: LaMarcus Aldridge showed why he's an All-Star with his 33-point, 12-rebound effort Saturday night. He made 14-of-26 shots and split his rebounds evenly at both ends. But, give the Mavs' 7-foot center credit, too. Dallas uses its centers to guard Aldridge, a power forward, because the Blazers don't have an offensive threat at the 5. That's a big job for Haywood, who must cover a lot of ground against the far more agile Aldridge, whose bread-and -butter is a beautiful mid-range fall-away. Haywood made his younger opponent work for his points and Aldridge had to double-pump in mid-air just to get his first overtime game-tying attempt up, and it bounced around the rim before dropping. Hawyood logged 38 minutes, nine more than his previous season high, leaving Ian Mahinmi and new fan favorite Brandan Wright mostly to watch from the sideline. Haywood finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and 10 rebounds, his sixth double-figure rebound game of the season.

2. Turnovers are weird: The Mavs were fortunate to escape Minnesota having committed 18 turnovers (mostly because the Timberwolves coughed it up a remarkable 28 times). So Dallas was even more fortunate to get away with 23 turnovers Saturday night against Portland. The return of Jason Kidd was supposed to help cut down turnovers, so 41 in the last two games is certainly a cause for concern. The Mavs were turnover-free after one quarter and then committed eight in each the second and third quarters. The Blazers converted the 23 turnovers into only 23 points. Carlisle noted his concern by saying, "We're doing some things that are just uncharacteristically weird out there with the ball, and it's not like us.''

3. Free Roddy B?: Well, the return of Jason Kidd has sent Rodrigue Beaubois back to the end of the bench -- the deep, deep end. In Kidd's two games back, Beaubois has not played a second, has not needed to remove his sweats. He had the nice bounce-back game at Denver, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting one game after it appeared his confidence was totally shot (again) at Cleveland. It's so hard to figure what Beaubois' future holds. With Delonte West playing well, the minutes are going to be limited and maybe reserved for garbage time or strategically placed during extremely busy portions of the schedule. As of now the latest Free Roddy B revival was a short-lived one.

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki couldn't buy a basket after halftime. He missed a stepback jumper for the win at the end of regulation and he clanked a tough, fallaway baseline jumper for the lead with two seconds left at the end of the first overtime.

By the time he sized up LaMarcus Aldridge at the free throw line with the Mavericks clinging to a two-point lead and the clock ticking down under 20 seconds in the second overtime, Nowitzki was 2-of-12 from the floor since halftime.

"You can't give me two looks at it," said Nowitzki, who must have meant three looks because the third time was indeed the charm.

Nowitzki bobbed and lofted a one-legged fallaway, drained it and then pumped his fist, tugged at his jersey and spit out a slew of, well, words, after having finally supplied the Mavs enough cushion with a four-point lead to secure a 97-94 double-overtime victory Saturday night.

"It was a vintage Nowitzki shot," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Contested, bump, somehow create space, high-arch and the ball goes in."

But enough about Dirk, who had his first poor shooting game since four consecutive dandies reminded everyone that he really is an All-Star. His 20 points Saturday didn't come easily on 7-of-20 shooting in a season-high 45 minutes, but they still led the team. This third consecutive win was close to becoming a really bad loss, like the overtime winner against San Antonio or the one that actually became a loss at Cleveland when the Cavs came back from down 15 to win. The Spurs rallied from 18 down to force overtime and the Blazers, down 18 in the second quarter, took their first lead of the game, 83-81, in the opening minute of OT.

So, it wasn't pretty. Neither team reached 100 points in 58 minutes of hoops on the second night of a back-to-back for both. But when Dirk wasn't hitting and Dallas needed something out of Lamar Odom, he gave them seven of his 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting. In all, seven Mavs scored between seven and 20 points. Jason Terry ended his slump with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and was feeling so feisty that he had had about enough of Dirk missing potential game-winner and he let Carlisle know about it.

"I told the coaches ‘Gimme the ball.’ I’m serious," Terry said. "How long we gonna keep this thing going?"

Six Mavs grabbed between six and 12 rebounds, with Marion and Brendan Haywood keeping alive Marion's miss and Haywood getting the put-back for a 95-93 lead with 45.3 to play. Early in the second overtime, Marion pulled down one of his four offensive rebounds (and a team-high 12 overall) that led to a Delonte West bucket for a 91-89 lead.

West, of course, hopped off the bench to start the second OT in place of Jason Kidd, who had hit his minutes ceiling, Carlisle said, in his second game back from the strained calf. West hadn't played since the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter, yet knocked down three consecutive shots as the only pair of fresh legs on the floor for either team.

"All I can is it's the NBA," said Marion, who had 14 points. "You can say this and say that, and at the end of the day we were able to pull out a win. It took two overtimes to do it, but you've got to give them credit. They're a resilient team, and that LaMarcus Aldridge is handful."

Aldridge, who played in high school at Seagoville, came home a first-time All-Star and played like one, dropping 33 points to go with 12 rebounds. He tied it up a couple times, but also missed a couple that could have really put Dallas in a bad spot.

No, this one wasn't pretty. The Mavs coughed it up 23 times and nearly lost for a fourth time when holding an opponent to under 40-percent shooting.

But when 10 players make some positive contribution to the end result, the Mavs will take it and move on to the next one.

That one, by the way, is against Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the rolling Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.

Hang on.