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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

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

Mavs' spot in the standings: The Mavs are back in the sixth seed, a half game ahead of the Nuggets and in possession of the tiebreaker. Dallas is two games ahead of the Jazz and two and a half games ahead of the Suns and Rockets.

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
Mavs 117, Rockets 110: Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of the Mavs’ critical comeback win.

Clippers 104, Nuggets 98: Chris Paul had 21 points and eight assists as the Clippers won their fifth straight to pull within a half game of the Lakers for the third seed.

Grizzlies 103, Hornets 91: Rudy Gay scored 26 points as the Grizzlies clinched their second consecutive playoff berth.

Lakers 99, Warriors 87: Andrew Bynum had 31 points and Pau Gasol had a 22-11-11 triple-double.

Spurs 127, Kings 102: The first-place Spurs rolled to another rout while Tim Duncan rested.

Jazz 112, Trail Blazers 91: Ex-Maverick Devin Harris hit a career-high six 3-pointers during a 27-point performance to help keep Utah’s playoff hopes alive.

Thunder 109, Suns 97: Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner James Harden scored a career-high 40 points for Oklahoma City.

TODAY’S GAMES
Rockets at Hornets
Clippers at Suns

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Lakers

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

Mavs' spot in the standings: Nothing changed for the Mavs, who are in seventh place, a half game behind the Nuggets. The Rockets and Suns are a game and a half behind the Mavs, and Utah is two games behind Dallas.

TUESDAY'S GAMES

Grizzlies 91, Timberwolves 84: Rudy Gay had 28 points as the Grizzlies handed the Timberwolves their 11th consecutive loss.

Spurs 112, Lakers 91: Tony Parker had 29 points and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes as the first-place Spurs got revenge for a recent rout by the Lakers. It was the Spurs’ 18th win in their last 21 games.

TODAY’S GAMES
Hornets at Grizzlies
Rockets at Mavericks
Thunder at Suns
Jazz at Trail Blazers
Spurs at Kings
Lakers at Warriors

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Thunder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TODAY’S GAMES
Kings at Mavs

If the playoffs started today: Mavs vs. Spurs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks played a fine three quarters. Too bad for them they didn't show up until the second.

Memphis jumped out to an 8-0 lead, made it 19-5, 26-6 and finally 29-10 after 12 minutes. The Mavs made two baskets in the first period and shot 13 percent.

Ballgame.

Only it didn't have to be that way. The Mavs largely outplayed Memphis the rest of the way and did so despite a gimpy Delonte West, no Ian Mahinmi and with Dirk Nowitzki plodding through one of his shooting performances of the season (5-of-16). Against all that, Vince Carter, Brandan Wright and Shawn Marion nearly managed the impossible.

With 4:15 to go in he third quarter, Carter's step-back 3-pointer from the wing got Dallas to within one point, 63-62, for the first time in the game. But over the next three-plus minutes, Memphis scored seven consecutive points, stopped only by an accidental Rodrigue Beaubois bank-in 3-pointer.

Down five to start the fourth quarter, the Mavs had two catastrophic turnovers on inbounds passes in the first six minutes among their 16 on the night. Down 81-74 with 9:35 to go, Beaubois couldn't get the ball in on the sideline and was whistled for a five-second violation. Then with 6:46 left and coming out of a timeout, Jason Terry's inbounds pass intended for Delonte West got lost in translation and O.J. Mayo scooped it up, got fouled, made two free throws and the Memphis lead swelled back to 10 at 88-78.

Nowitzki added two more critical turnovers in the final two minutes on outlet passes after grabbing a critical rebound reminiscent of the awful pass he throw in the final 20 seconds of overtime Friday night. Having played 36 minutes at the time of the foul after going 42 in Friday's overtime loss, is there any other explanation other than fatigue?

Don't tell the Grizz about that. They were playing their seventh game in nine nights and tore up the Heat in Miami on Friday. Rudy Gay rebounded from a rough night in Dallas on Wednesday to lead all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Zach Randolph had 15 points, including two big free throws with 15.8 seconds to go to extend the lead to five.

Despite Nowitzki's ragged shooting night, he still led Dallas with 17 points and eight rebounds. Wright had 16 points, Carter scored 14, Marion had 12 and Terry had 12.

On the Lamar Odom watch, he played four minutes in the first quarter and never saw the floor again. What does that say about Odom on a team that was shorthanded to begin with?

What it means: The Mavs (31-26) have lost two in a row and three of four since the comeback at Orlando. Although they own the tiebreaker against all the playoff contenders under them, they are not making their lives any easier with nine games left in the regular season and six of them on the road.

Bold play of the game: With 6:57 left in the game and the Mavs trailing 83-78, they couldn't get a rebound. Memphis reset and Gilbert Arenas received a floating pass from the other side of the court that could have been picked off, but Terry had his back to the pass. Arenas hauled it in and sent up his own floater of a 3-pointer that splashed down for one of his three 3-pointers in the game. The deflating shot put Memphis back up by eight and the next possession the Grizz made it 10, 88-78.

Stat of the game: Biggest lead: Grizzlies 20, Mavericks 0.

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

MEMPHIS -- By now everyone knows that Delonte West is his own man. He's also apparently his own athletic trainer.

While most guys will get their ankles and various bruised or swollen body parts taped by head athletic trainer Casey Smith, West is a do-it-yourself kind of guy. In preparation for tonight's game against the Memphis Grizzlies, West had plenty of black medical tape with him to handle his multiple injuries.

With his Beats rocking his eardrums, his head slowly bobbing and lyrics sporadically escaping his lips, West methodically wrapped tape around each ankle, taking extreme care with the left one that he twice twisted Friday, once during the morning shootaround and then again during the game against Portland.

"I think he's sore, but I believe he's going to play," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Again, the fact that he was out there last night was big."

Watching West then shift his attention to his still-healing right ring finger, wrapping it tight to his middle finger and then both over padding, that he mangled in mid-February only to return to action last week, Mavs strength and conditioning coach Robert Hackett was asked how many guys tape their own body parts.

"None," Hackett said.

Smith, who said Steve Novak used to tape his own ankles, joked that West likes to call himself a D-League athletic trainer. Smith would give West a final check-over in the training room before West donned his head band and headed to the court for pre-game warmups.

Carlisle is just happy the feisty combo guard sucked it up and played Friday night against the Blazers and will do so tonight in an important game against the Grizzlies. Jason Kidd, of course, will miss his fourth consecutive game with a strained right groin. Carlisle said they'll know more about Kidd, who is not with the team in Memphis, when they reconvene for practice Monday.

As for Saturday, the Mavs need West at his best against Memphis guards Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo.

MEMPHIS -- Here's the bad news about finishing up a back-to-back at Memphis:

"It feels like we haven’t won in Memphis in years," Dirk Nowitzki said following Friday's improbable, 99-97 overtime home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Portland loss basically nullified Dallas' feel-good win against the Grizzles on Wednesday. And now the Dallas Mavericks, 11-15 on the road, walk -- er, limp -- into Memphis knowing that a loss could prevent them from moving beyond the sixth spot in the West standings.

Nowitzki's claim is sort of right on, too. The Mavs have lost five of the last seven games played in Memphis, and he has some bad personal memories there. In the first meeting this season, he lasted less than 10 minutes before his lower back stiffened up to the point that he couldn't play. Dallas then got blown out.

Last season, he got tossed in the third quarter after playing just 15 minutes in his return from a knee injury -- and Dallas got blown out.

The good news is that Dallas, despite its advanced age, has been very good in the second night of a back-to-back, going 12-6. Although in the case of a home-and-road scenario, the Mavs are just 1-3. The Grizzlies beat up the Heat in Miami on Friday night and will be playing their seventh game in nine nights, so fatigue should be a factor in the Mavs' favor, as it was Wednesday night in Dallas.

Then again, the Grizzlies will be smelling blood. They know a win tonight will put them three games ahead of Dallas in the loss column with the Mavs down to single-digit games left on the schedule.

"It’s an important game for us," Shawn Marion said. "We can’t afford to lose two."

Records: Mavs (31-25); Grizzlies (31-23)

Where: FedEx Forum

TV: KTXA/Ch. 21

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

What to watch: Pride. Can the Mavs muster it up after Friday night's embarrassment? In this strangely inconsistent season, one good game has often led to a stinker and vice-versa. The defending champs over the years have been very good with their backs against the wall. Well, here's another one of those unfortunate situations. A loss and the Mavs drop to just four games over .500 and seriously put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. The sixth-seeded Mavs enter tonight's game with the same number of losses as the No. 7 Rockets and No. 8 Nuggets -- although they do hold the tie-breaker over both teams -- and just two fewer losses than Utah and Phoenix.

Key matchup: Mike Conley vs. Delonte West
The Mavs' fill-in starter at point guard gave the team two scares Friday when he twisted his left ankle during the morning shootaround and then again during the game when he landed awkwardly after making a nice drive to the bucket. The Grizzlies get a lot of points in the paint and not just from their powerful front line. Conley is a quick and shifty point guard who can get to the cup. West is going to have to be on his toes and even a small gimp in his step could spell the difference between preventing Conley from a free path to the lane and forcing him to make a different decision.

Injuries: Mavs -- G Jason Kidd (strained right groin) is out; C Ian Mahinmi (personal reasons) is out. Grizzlies -- F Darrell Arthur (torn ACL) is out; G Tony Allen (facial laceration) is questionable.

Up next: Sacramento Kings at Mavs, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

DALLAS -- Wednesday night's battle against the Memphis Grizzlies reached the crossroads at the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter when little-used, 6-foot-6 forward Quincy Pondexter blew by Lamar Odom, stole the rebound and scored as Odom lazily fouled him.

Before Pondexter could finish his fist pump, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle yelled for Shawn Marion off the bench, ending yet another curious night for Odom, who earlier failed to get a pretty, uncontested finger roll above the front of the rim and also airballed a free throw by a half-foot.

Pondexter made his attempt to give the Grizzlies a 73-68 lead.

"Look, it was a bad play," Carlisle said. "Lamar was there and he needed to put a body on him and didn’t do it and so Pondexter gets a three-point play."

Back from a stomach illness that left him sleepless and unable to eat all weekend, and sidelined him for Monday's lifeless loss to the Clippers, Odom acknowledged that his tank was on empty when he flat-out blew the block out, allowing Pondexter to collect his only rebound and only points in his 11 minutes of action.

"There’s times when you’re tired," Odom said, "you make a lazy play and that one play I didn’t box out the kid Pondexter because I was tired, fatigued."

Carlisle, sensing that moment of the game to be the tipping for either team, yanked the 6-10 Odom, who finished with five points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.

"The thing is, potentially that can be such a big momentum play for the other team if you allow it to and our guys just didn’t allow it to," Carlisle said. "We hung in and we just kept fighting and it was the kind of game where you had to keep fighting."

As Pondexter lined up for the free throw, a general sentiment swelled in the Mavs.

The typically mild-mannered Rodrigue Beaubois summed it up.

"Obviously, when you see a perimeter player just come in to get an offensive rebound, that kind of pissed off everyone," Beaubois said. "So for sure, that action got a reaction out of us and I think we did a good job after that. I’m happy the way we competed at the end. We need to play like this more often."

The reaction was a 21-2 blitzing over the next seven minutes as the weary Grizzlies melted under the Mavs' increased defensive pressure. For the Grizz, it was the final quarter of their fifth game in six nights and third in a row. For the Mavs, who trailed by 10 in the second quarter, the 95-85 victory was practically of the must-have variety. They didn't show up two nights earlier against the Clippers to fall to just .500 since Feb. 1 with still multiple teams nipping at their heels at the bottom of the West playoff standings.

Beaubois was as responsible as anyone for the late surge, playing the entire fourth quarter and scoring four of his eight points, two on an assertive drive with 2:33 to go, grabbing both of his rebounds and dishing an assist to Dirk Nowitzki for a 20-foot jumper that put Dallas up 80-75 with 5:58 to go.

Beaubois' aggression came through at the other end, too, with a steal and two blocks. After Marion cut the Memphis lead to 73-72, Beaubois rose up and blocked Mike Conley's 3-point attempt at the point of release and 37 seconds later the Mavs had a 74-73 lead.

Marion scored 12 of his 16 points in the final quarter, taking advantage of fastbreaks for transition dunks and layups. Dirk Nowitzki had six of his 23 in the fourth as he matched Beaubois and Jason Terry (five points in the fourth, including his lone 3-pointer) in playing the entire fourth frame.

Odom watched the final 10 minutes from the bench.

"I’m about winning. That’s the way it is," Odom said. "This a deep team. Right now it’s about finding a way to help the team and just win games."

Perhaps in a most inadvertent way, Odom did just that.

How it happened: Maybe the Grizzlies, who were playing their fifth game in six nights, just ran out of gas. That doesn’t matter to the Mavericks.

The Mavs absolutely dominated crunch time, as they did so often during last season’s championship run and have done so rarely this season.

That dominance started on the defensive end. The Mavs held the Grizzlies to 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting in the final 10 minutes, allowing Dallas to turn a five-point deficit into a double-figure margin of victory.

The stops fueled the Mavs’ offense. Shawn Marion’s 12-point fourth quarter featured four fast-break baskets, one on a beautiful, spinning feed from Jason Terry for a dunk.

The brilliance of Marion, who finished with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds, allowed the Mavs’ co-closers to slip into complementary roles as Dallas put the Grizzlies away. Dirk Nowitzki scored six of his game-high 23 points in the final frame. Terry had five of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Marion, as usual, also spearheaded the Mavs’ defensive effort. He held Memphis star Rudy Gay to eight points on 4-of-12 shooting, shutting him out in the fourth quarter.

The Mavs also won the rebounding battle, 45-40, a big deal after getting their butts kicked on the glass on a regular basis recently. Nowitzki grabbed 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

What it means: The Mavs pulled even with the Grizzlies in the Western Conference standings, sitting in a tie for fifth place. The tiebreaker in the series will be settled Saturday night in Memphis. The Mavs also created a little separation from Houston (idle) and Denver, which lost to New Orleans.

Bold play of the game: Marion grabbed a rebound off O.J. Mayo’s missed runner and went coast to coast for a little floater. That capped a 10-0 run -- which started when Marion replaced Lamar Odom after Odom’s pathetic failure to box out resulted in a three-point play for Memphis’ Quincy Pondexter -- and stretched the Mavs’ lead to five points.

Stat of the night: The Mavs are 3-20 when trailing after three quarters, including comebacks in their last two wins. Dallas was 18-22 when trailing after three quarters last season.

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

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks could use a healthy Brendan Haywood to help protect the paint and bang the boards. They'll have to settle for the one who's locked into a bulky knee brace and whose lateral movement remains limited.

Haywood has played two games since missing seven with a sprained right knee. He has 10 points and seven rebounds in 42 minutes and his plus-minus rating is sagging at a minus-32.

"It serves its purpose," Haywood said as he strapped the brace on his right knee prior to pregame warmups. "It's big and clunky as hell, but it's hard to get hurt in it."

Haywood said he hopes to be rid of it by the end of the week, but that "my knee might tell me something totally different. I'm just taking it day by day by day."

Haywood might be pressed into bigger minutes tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies with a front line of 7-foot-1, 265-pound center Marc Gasol and 6-9, 260-pound power foward Zach Randolph, who has been coming off the bench. Games against teams with hulking big men have typically reduced minutes for lanky Mavs center Brandan Wright, with Ian Mahinmi serving as the backup.

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.

MEMPHIS -- Dirk Nowitzki left Wednesday's game against Memphis at the 11:09 mark of the second quarter with lower back tightness. His return his questionable.

He started the second quarter, but quickly came out and headed straight for the locker room with head athletic trainer Casey Smith.

Nowitzki was 0-of-1 from the floor with one point, four rebounds and two turnovers in 10 minutes.

With Lamar Odom still away from the team for personal reasons, the Mavs are extremely shallow at power forward. Brian Cardinal replaced Nowitzki. Yi Jianlian was first to replace Nowitzki off the bench in the first quarter.

During his postgame press conference Tuesday, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle seemed particularly perturbed at his team's lackluster performance in the 93-92 home loss to the New Jersey.

Starting a stretch of nine games in 12 nights, but seven against teams with losing records, dropping one to Jersey wasn't on anyone's mind.

"This is going to be an emotional stretch of games," Carlisle said. "There's going to be a lot going on, a lot of good teams, a lot of hungry teams that don't necessarily have good records. Similar to [Tuesday], if we don't put our best game forward, we put ourselves in harm's way."

Tonight is not one of those nights against a team that does not have a good record. The Memphis Grizzlies are just 19-15, but they've put some things together lately as they eagerly await the return of power forward Zach Randolph -- who had thoughts of coming back against Dallas, but apparently will hold off just a bit longer.

The Mavs, who have averaged just 90.2 points in their last five games, enter this one just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Grizzlies, and a loss would tie the two clubs in the loss column. Dallas enters the game having lost two in a row and looking to avoid a fourth loss in five games, which would tie their worst stretch since starting the season 1-4.

It won't be easy. Once a Dallas doormat, Memphis has won four of the last six meetings on their home floor and six of 10 overall.

Records: Mavs (21-14); Grizzlies (19-15)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: FedEx Forum

TV: FSSW

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

What to watch: The Mavs are coming off a stinging loss at home Tuesday night while the Grizzlies rested up with an extra night off following the All-Star break. Dallas wasn't ready to play at home against the Nets, falling behind early and allowing 56 first-half points. How fresh will they be tonight after Tuesday's intense finish? A fast start by the Grizzlies could be fatal to the Dallas. Memphis allows just 92.2 points a game.

Key matchup: Marc Gasol vs. Brendan Haywood
The Mavs' big man has another tall task tonight against the Grizzlies' All-Star center, who is averaging 15.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 blocks. While Haywood had a night to remember offensively with a season-high 18 points Tuesday night against Nets counterpart Brook Lopez, he had a night to forget at the other end. Lopez torched Haywood for a season-high 38 points on 17-of-28 shooting. Gasol has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games and recorded a double-double in three of his last four games.

Injuries: Mavs - G Delonte West (fractured right ring finger) is out; F Lamar Odom (personal reasons) is out. Grizzlies - F Zach Randolph (torn right MCL) is out; F Darrell Arthur (torn right Achilles) is out.

Up next: Mavs at New Orleans Hornets, 7 p.m., Friday