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Contract disputes are about money. The person seeking the contract always wants more than the person handing out the contract wants to give.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle might not yet describe this lingering contract situation as a dispute, but the bottom line is that Carlisle has yet to ink a new deal. Neither side is talking about it, so it can only be assumed that money is a central issue.

Carlisle earned $4.5 million in the fourth and final year of his contract this past season. That ranked him seventh at the start of the season, according to Forbes, among the league's highest-paid coaches. Three of the top six on the list didn't make it out of the season. Mike D'Antonio ($6 million, tied with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich for second) resigned from the New York Knicks, Nate McMillan ($5.5 million, fourth) was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers and Flip Saunders ($4.8 million, sixth) was fired by the Washington Wizards.

According to Forbes, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is the highest-paid coach in the NBA, earning $7 million this season. He's in his 13th season as a head coach and eighth with the Celtics, who hold a 1-0 lead on the Philadelphia 76ers in the East semifinals. Rivers and the Celtics won the 2008 championship and returned to the Finals in 2010, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

Is Carlisle looking for Rivers-type money? Or perhaps the $6 million that Popovich, a four-time championship coach, is pocketing this season? The NBA's Coach of the Year has the Spurs in the West semifinals on the heels of a first-round sweep.

In Carlisle's third season in Dallas, he molded a group of title-less veterans into unexpected champions, providing Cuban and the franchise with its first title. While the Miami Heat, the team the Mavs dispatched in the NBA Finals in six games, rewarded coach Erik Spoelstra with an extension in December prior to the start of the season, Carlisle's reward never came.

Cuban dismantled the title team and the season was a struggle from start to finish. Dallas ended it 36-30 in the regular season and then was swept out of the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder under coach Scott Brooks, who is also coming to the end of his contract and will command a bigger payday.

Cuban claims it's simply not his business style to grant extensions (the 2006 extension he gave Avery Johnson backfired). But now that the season is over and still no deal exists, it figures that either the two sides are negotiating a workable salary or that Carlisle, who would be a hot commodity as a free agent, is keeping his options open.

After all, the Mavs' future, in terms of its roster as Dirk Nowitzki turns 34 in June, is as unsettled as ever in Cuban's dozen years as owner.

Dirk Nowitzki knew that he probably needed to put the Dallas Mavericks on his shoulders from an offensive perspective with Jason Terry unavailable against the Philadelphia 76ers.

It just took Nowitzki a half to follow through on the plan.

What a show it was once Dirk did get going.

Nowitzki thawed out after a 2-of-11 first half to torch Philadelphia for 24 points in the second half, matching the Sixers’ total for the final 24 minutes. Dirk had a dozen points in the third quarter and a dozen more in the fourth to key the Mavs’ biggest comeback of the season and an 82-75 win.

“I really tried to find my rhythm early and get some baskets and get going, but for some reason that first half it just wasn’t happening,” said Nowitzki, who finished with 28 points after hitting 8 of 11 shots from the floor in the second half. “I felt like I had some good looks there, but just didn’t have a good rhythm and some of the stuff was short.

“In the second half, I really had the same mindset but just had a couple go in. We all know when a shooter sees a couple go in, the confidence goes up. … I just rolled from there.”

It was Nowitzki’s seventh 20-plus-point performance in the past eight games, but he was in the midst of a mini-slump at the half. He had hit only 19 of his last 58 shots from the floor over the previous three-and-a-half games before catching fire in the third quarter, when he was 5-of-6 from the floor, hitting a pair of transition 3-pointers and a few midrange jumpers, highlighted by a high-degree-of-difficulty one-legged leanaway off the dribble.

“At this point, this is not a shock,” coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki’s second-half shooting exhibition.

No, it’s not a shock. There have been precious few players in NBA history to score as prolifically for one team as Nowitzki has for the Mavs.

In fact, there are only nine players who have scored more points for a single team than Nowitzki, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: Utah’s Karl Malone (36,374); Chicago’s Michael Jordan (29,277); the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (28,699); Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon (26,511); Boston’s John Havlicek (26,395); Indiana’s Reggie Miller (25,279); the Lakers’ Jerry West (25,192); the Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24,176); and New York’s Patrick Ewing (23,665). Nowitzki (23,294) moved past Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins (23,292) on Friday night.

A few more notes from the Mavs’ victory:

1. D for dominant: The Mavs moved past the Lakers as the team with the lowest field goal percentage allowed after stifling the Sixers in the second half. Philadelphia shot a season-low 33.7 percent from the floor, including 9-of-42 in the second half.

“The story of the game was our defense,” Carlisle said. “We only allowed 24 points in the second half, which is a phenomenal job defensively. They missed some shots, but our guys were into it. Right now, that’s our identity as a team. We’re a defense-first team.”

2. Jason Kidd and the kid: The Mavs remain determined to limit their 38-year-old floor general’s minutes despite Delonte West's extended absence due to his mangled right ring finger. That makes production from Dominique Jones -- and Rodrigue Beaubois, once he returns from a personal leave -- a must.

Jones, the rarely used second-year guard from South Florida, provided 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 21 minutes against the Sixers.

“Dominique Jones filling in did a terrific job, all things considered,” Carlisle said.

Kidd played nine seconds less than his limit of 30 minutes and had arguably his best all-around performance of the season. He scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out eight assists, swiped two steals and even blocked a shot. His most important stat: a plus-minus of 28 points on the positive side, which included a 9-0 run that gave the Mavs the lead for good after Kidd re-entered the game in the fourth quarter.

“That is why he is one of the top players of all time,” Carlisle said.

3. Matrix’s magnificence: Shawn Marion had a miserable night offensively, misfiring on 10 of 13 shots, including a dunk and several other attempts close to the bucket. That didn’t stop him from putting on another defensive clinic against point guards.

Marion, the 6-foot-7 small forward who has been primarily a defending point guard since Kidd’s return from a strained right calf five games ago, made life miserable for Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday (three points, 0-9 FG, two assists).

At least Holiday is in good company. Denver’s Ty Lawson had three points on 1-of-8 shooting and two assists in a Wednesday loss to the Mavs. Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio and the Clippers’ Chris Paul also had subpar performances while being harassed by Marion, a 13-year veteran who is making a strong case for his first All-Defense Team appearance.

How it happened: Charles Barkley might want to ask his old friends in Philadelphia for an update on Dirk Nowitzki versus Father Time.

Dirk’s dominance and stifling defense fueled the Mavericks’ most impressive comeback win since their NBA championship run.

Nowitzki recovered from a horrible first half (2-of-11 shooting) to light up the 76ers for 24 of his 28 points after the break. Nowitzki single-handedly scored as many points as the 76ers in the second half.

The Mavs took the lead with a 14-0 run in the third, sparked by 10 points and an assist from Nowitzki, and never trailed again. The Sixers pulled even a couple of times, including with a little more than nine minutes remaining in the game, but Jason Kidd (nine points, eight rebounds, nine assists) keyed a 9-0 run to put the Mavs in position to close.

Nowitzki’s brilliance will get the majority of attention, but the Mavs couldn’t come back to beat a quality Eastern Conference team on the road without the dirty work on the defensive end, which Dallas has been doing consistently since its 0-3 start. Philadelphia shot only 21.4 percent (9-of-42) from the floor in the second half.

What it means: The Mavs have won six consecutive games for the first time all season. They’ll head to Madison Square Garden for a Sunday matinee against Jeremy Lin and the Knicks as one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

Play of the game: Nowitzki knocked down a transition 3 in traffic from the top of the arc to give the Mavs a 54-53 lead, their first since the early stages of the game. When he hits that kind of shot -- and shows no hesitation to launch it -- you know the big German is in a groove.

Stat of the night: The Mavericks, who trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, had not won a game this season in which they trailed by double digits. They hadn’t won a road game in which they trailed by more than five points.

Here's a couple of career milestones that could be reached tonight by the Dallas Mavericks' two future Hall of Famers against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Dirk Nowitzki

The big German has scored 23,266 career points and is 26 points shy of breaking into the NBA’s all-time top 10 for most points scored for one team. The top 10 (via Elias Sports Bureau): Karl Malone (36,374), Michael Jordan (29,277), Kobe Bryant (28,699), Hakeem Olajuwon (26,511), John Havlicek (26,395), Reggie Miller (25,279), Jerry West (25,192), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24,176), Patrick Ewing (23,665) and Dominique Wilkins (23,292).

Nowitzki is currently No. 21 on the NBA's all-time scoring list and he's quickly closing in on the top 20. He needs just 68 points to tie former Boston Celtics legend Robert Parrish. Interestingly, Nowitzki is on pace to reach the mark Monday when the Mavs are back at home to play the Celtics.

Jason Kidd

The 18-year veteran needs five steals to tie Michael Jordan for second place on the NBA's all-time steals list. Kidd enters tonight's game with 2,509 career steals. Jordan finished his career with 2,514. Kidd will no doubt reach No. 2, but that will probably be as far as he gets. John Stockton is No. 1 with 3,265 career steals.

Kidd has a high of six steals this season, plus one game with five and two others with four steals each.

Jason Kidd's minutes restrictions might have to be thrown out the window tonight when the Dallas Mavericks take on the guard-savvy Philadelphia 76ers.

The Mavs will be without Jason Terry (personal reasons), Delonte West (fractured finger) and Rodrigue Beaubois (personal reasons) tonight against a club that is tied for the most home wins in the NBA with 13.

Two guards lead the Sixers in scoring; reserve Lou Williams (16.1 ppg) and Jrue Holiday (13.7). And then there's swingman Andre Iguodala (12.2) and Evan Turner (8.9) off the bench with Sweet Lou. Dallas is down to Kidd, Vince Carter and Dominique Jones.

How do the Mavs keep up with all those young, athletic guards? Does Shawn Marion continue his defense of the point guard or does he have to stick on Iguodala?

Good questions. We'll have to wait for the answers.

Records: Mavs (19-11), Sixers (20-10)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Wells Fargo Center

TV: ESPN, FSSW

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

What to watch: Jason Kidd. Plain and simple. With only Dominique Jones (and Lamar Odom) available to run the point, how long can Kidd go? Who does he guard? Can he keep the hot hand in a game in which the Mavs will need scoring from him? Kidd is coming off a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc in Wednesday's win against Denver. Coach Rick Carlisle is trying to keep Kidd's minutes around 25 and no more than 32. That could be challenging tonight, the start of three games in four days.

Key matchup: Lou Williams vs. Shawn Williams/Dominique Jones
Typically, this would be a great matchup of sixth men, but Jason Terry is not with the team for personal reasons. So, that means Dominique Jones is a prime candidate to go up against the Sixers' 6-foot-1 leading scorer. And when Jones is not in, does that mean 6-7 Shawn Marion must take Sweet Lou. This is a difficult matchup for Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, so this should be very, very interesting.

Injuries: Mavs - G Delonte West (fractured right ring finger) is out; G Jason Terry (personal reasons) is out; G Rodrigue Beaubois (personal reasons) is out. Sixers - C Spencer Hawes (left Achilles strain) is doubtful.

Up next: Mavs at New York Knicks, noon, Sunday.

That the Dallas Mavericks rank in the top five in three critical NBA defensive categories -- opponent field goal percentage, points per game and defensive efficiency -- defies logic.

That the Mavs shared the top spot in opponent field goal percentage with the Los Angeles Lakers entering Thursday night's games goes against all reason.

That this Dallas defense owns the franchise record of 15 consecutive games of holding an opponent under 100 points and takes a second nine-game streak into Friday's game at the Philadelphia 76ers is almost as mind-blowing as Linsanity itself.

Because when Tyson Chandler walked out the door, the Mavs were supposed to walk off the defensive cliff. Yet this remade reigning champion, with the ultraversatile Shawn Marion trumpeting the charge and last season's backseat center Brendan Haywood anchoring the paint, is proving that you don't have to throw out the culture with the culture-changer.

To read the full column, click here.

We're about to find out just how coveted Tyson Chandler is around the NBA. Teams can talk to player-agents as of 8 a.m. and you can bet that Chandler's agent Jeff Schwartz will be a busy, busy man.

PODCAST
Ben and Skin weigh in on the rumors circulating around NBA free agents. Will a max contract offer lure Tyson Chandler away from the Mavs? Listen

We know the Dallas Mavericks will make a hard run at re-signing the 7-foot-1 center who played such an integral role in the franchise finally capturing its first championship. So, which teams are legitimate threats to take him away?

The Mavs go in with the clear edge to re-sign the big man. And, Chandler might not find a better spot than Dallas to contend for a title this season. Still, he'll have options and big bucks waiting with every suitor. Here's a quick take on five teams, in no particular order, that could make a hard charge:

Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota might seem like the NBA's Siberia and, well, it's hard to argue that isn't. But, is that about to change? Don Nelson thinks so. That's why the Hall of Fame coach lobbied hard for that job after the T'Wolves called it curtains for Kurt Rambis. Veteran mastermind Rick Adelman has the gig and don't you know he'd -- well -- love a frontcourt of Chandler and double-double machine Kevin Love? Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio will finally make his NBA debut, joining a roster that can at least be described as intriguing with Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph and Anthony Tolliver. This move would take a real leap of faith on Chandler's part, but Minnesota hasn't had an outlook this bright since Kevin Garnett and Latrell Sprewell had a firm grip on the franchise.

Sacramento Kings
The Kings could be just a season away from moving to Anaheim. Chandler is more of a San Bernardino County guy than Orange County, but nevertheless he could potentially play very close to home and family. The Kings are nowhere close to contending, but laid-back coach Paul Westphal, a Southern California guy himself, has some interesting, young talent with Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, J.J. Hickson and rookies Isaiah Thomas and "The Jimmer" (Jimmer Fredette). Center Samuel Dalembert is a free agent and could return with the right deal. The Kings are substantially below the salary cap and will have to spend some dough just to get to the cap minimum. Adelman, the T'Wolves coach proved that small-market Sacramento can contend.

Philadelphia 76ers
This is a team that might be ready to pop with a nice mix of young talent and proven veterans returning for Doug Collins' second season. Coming off a playoff appearance and under new ownership, the goals are heightened. Six players averaged in double-digits last season and that doesn't include Evan Turner. The missing ingredient here is an athletic, rebounding center.The 76ers could use the amnesty provision to jettison Andres Nocioni, which would allow Philly to make a legitimate offer for Chandler. After the aging Boston Celtics, the Atlantic Division is wide open.

New Jersey Nets
Superman, aka Dwight Howard, is the man the Nets want to pair with Deron Williams and ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Chad Ford report that they're serious about trading for Howard and soon. The Nets still plan to hit free agency hard and Denver's Nene and Chandler are at the top of the list. Brook Lopez has proven he can score, but he doesn't rebound like a 7-footer should. The Nets have cap space and will have more if they amnesty Travis Outlaw. Avery Johnson's team is hardly loaded, but with Williams at the helm and a move to Brooklyn coming, Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov will do whatever it takes to buy a winner and steal the spotlight from Manhattan.

Houston Rockets
The Yao Ming dynasty is over in H-town. The Rockets know life in the Southwest Division isn't easy and subtracting an integral player from the defending champs while helping themselves in the process would be a coup for Rockets GM Daryl Morey. Houston is positioned to make a move for Chandler and add him to a roster that includes Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and young forward Patrick Patterson. At times last season the Rockets looked like a 6-foot-and-under team in comparison to the competition and Chandler's rebounding and defense would quickly take care of that little issue.

DALLAS -- Peja Stojakovic is still shaking off a stiff neck, but he did practice Tuesday. So did Shawn Marion, whose sprained right wrist (along with some still-tender left ribs) kept him out of Sunday's game.

If the Dallas Mavericks can avoid something going wrong during Wednesday's practice, they should finally field a full roster heading into the final 12 regular season games starting Thursday at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"That's the hope," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "I don't remember the last game we had everybody available, do you? Some of this is mother nature and some it you can't control."

The last time the Mavs fielded a fully healthy squad was 11 games ago at the Philadelphia 76ers on March 1. That's when Tyson Chandler sprained his right ankle and missed the next three games. The game Chandler returned, Peja Stojakovic missed with a stiff neck and he sat out six games total. During that game at the New Orleans Hornets on March 8, Shawn Marion missed the second half with bruised ribs. Then he sprained his right wrist Friday against the San Antonio Spurs and missed Sunday's game against Golden State.

Since Dirk Nowitzki went down with a sprained knee on Dec. 27, followed by Caron Butler's knee injury on Jan. 1, it seems one minor injury after another has kept Dallas from the rotation stability and defined roles it enjoyed earlier in the season.

"There's instability when you have injuries," Carlisle said. "The hope is that we can get healthier here these next couple of days and carry that into Thursday and carry it into the [six-game road] trip. But, you can only go day-to-day with that."

You would have thought it was Friday the 13th the way the Mavericks' Jasons carved up the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

Jason Kidd recorded his second triple-double of the year and Jason Terry continued his assault on the Sixth Man of the Year Award with 30 points as the Mavericks won in Philadelphia, 101-93.

"Anybody on our team is capable of going out there and having a big night," said forward Shawn Marion, who added a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. "It just so happened it was Jason and Jason on this night. We have so much experience that any one of us can do it on any given night and that gives us added confidence as a group."

The Mavericks suffered their own scary moment, however, as center Tyson Chandler left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.

"Thank you everyone for the Get Wells I'm ok just a sprain," Chandler tweeted about an hour after the game.

Despite the loss of their defensive mainstay, the Mavs won their seventh straight game and 17th out of 18.

Dallas picked up a game on the Western Conference-leading San Antonio Spurs, who lost in Memphis, 109-93, in their first game without guard Tony Parker, who is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a calf injury.

With 22 games remaining in the regular-season, the second-place Mavericks trail the Spurs by five games.

Kidd's night consisted of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists ... and zero turnovers. His rebound of a missed Andre Iguodala 3-pointer with 13 second remaining capped his 107th career triple-double, third most in NBA history behind Oscar Robertson (183) and Magic Johnson (138).

Terry continued his hot streak by hitting 13-of-18 field goals, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He's averaging 18.3 points on 48.5 percent shooting over his last 10 games. He's eclipsed the 20-point mark five times in that span.

Coach Rick Carlisle was named Western Conference coach of the month after guiding the Mavericks to an NBA-best 11-1 record during February. Of those 12 games, the Mavs were on the road for nine of them, with the lone loss coming in a 121-120 loss to Denver.

It was the second time that Carlisle has been honored while with the Mavericks -- he also won in April 2010. It is the fourth time he's won overall.

Josh Howard will finally get to face his old club since the big trade a year ago. Howard tore his ACL just a few games into his tenure with the Washington Wizards. He returned Dec. 18, had discomfort in his knee and came back again Feb. 13.

He's played just 12 games this season and Saturday's game against the Dallas Mavericks will be his first against the Mavs.

It wasn't long ago that Howard was a fan favorite in Dallas and seemed the perfect complement to the perimeter-shooting Dirk Nowitzki. But then Howard went haywire, his star faded and after two years of coddling by owner Mark Cuban, the decision to deal Howard was finally made last season.

The Mavs received Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

"I always said he was a nice complement to me," Nowitzki said. "He did all the things I wasn’t doing great, he was great at -- the slashing, putting the ball on the deck, getting to the line, the offensive rebounding he was phenomenal, just a great nose for the ball. I thought we complemented each other really well there when we were all on the same page."

The Mavs then move onto a Sunday evening game at the Toronto Raptors before wrapping up the three-game trip Tuesday night against the improved Philadelphia 76ers. On paper, it would seem a good opportunity for the Mavs to extend their four-game win streak to seven.

"On paper in this league doesn’t work," Nowitzki said. "Washington played us all the way down to the wire. Toronto beat us here when I was hurt so we definitely owe them one. Philly is very good at home. They even beat San Antonio at home before the [All-Star] break. Every game is a challenge in itself and we’ve got to be up for it. We’ve got the veterans to do it. We understand what time it is and we want to make this push towards the playoffs, so there shouldn’t be any letdowns here."

The Dallas Mavericks are one of four teams with 40 wins, yet the only one with a lone All-Star.

They are 10 wins away from an 11th consecutive season with at least 50 wins. They are in second place in the Western Conference, six games behind the San Antonio Spurs and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers.

They have one starter that has played six games and another that has played two games.

They have won 13 of their last 14 games, and have win streaks of 12 and 10.

They have Monday off, one day of practice and then a grind of 26 games in 51 days that begins Wednesday night at home against the Utah Jazz.

With that, here's a breakdown of the final 26:

Home games: 12

Longest homestand: 3 (March 18-24: vs. Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves)

Road games: 14

Longest road trip: 6 (March 26-April 3: Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers)

vs. Western Conference: 21

vs. Eastern Conference: 5 (last vs. New York Knicks, March 10)

vs. Southwest Division: 5 (Memphis Grizzlies, Spurs, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets - 2)

vs. the Lakers:2 (March 12 at AAC; March 31 at Staples Center)

vs. +.500 teams: 12

vs. -.500 teams: 12

vs. .500 teams: 2 (Suns)

Time to pad the win column: Feb. 23-March 7 (vs. Jazz, at Washington Wizards, at Toronto Raptors, at Philadelphia 76ers, vs. Indiana Pacers, vs. Grizzlies, at Timberwolves)

Time to buckle down: March 9-20 (at Hornets, vs. Knicks, vs. Lakers, at Trail Blazers, at Golden State, vs. Spurs, vs. Warriors)

DALLAS -- It's no coincidence that the Dallas Mavericks' bench has been on fire as the team has recorded consecutive season-highs of 112 and 111 points in their last two games.

Dallas' reserves have scored half of the team's two-game total, including 63 points in Tuesday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers and 49 in Thursday's win over the Houston Rockets. Jason Terry and J.J. Barea have provided 87 of 112 bench points, with Shawn Marion adding 20.

"Our team is structured to have a really good bench," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "We need a lot of productivity from them. We need them to provide balance to our starters. We don’t necessarily start our five best players. So, when we sub, we expect to get better, at least offensively."

That the Mavs have recorded such high point totals when Dirk Nowitzki has not been shooting well since returning from a sprained right knee is even more indicitive of how critical bench scoring is to the Mavs' overall success.

The Mavs prefer to bring Terry and Marion off the bench and match them up against the opponents' second team. In a more traditional alignment, Terry would start at shooting guard and Marion would start at small forward. Instead, the Mavs have used DeShawn Stevenson at shooting guard, and recently Sasha Pavlovic (who will be playing in his final game of his second 10-day contract tonight against the Atlanta Hawks) at small forward in the wake of Caron Butler's season-ending knee injury.

Along with point guard Jason Kidd, the Mavs feature a most unusual starting five in which three players (Pavlovic, Stevenson) average 8.0 points or less, which obviously puts the burden on the bench to score points.

How much burden?

The Mavs are 22-7 when their bench outscores their opponent's, and they're just 8-8 when outscored.

According to ESPN Stats & Research, Dallas' bench (36.1 points a game) ranks fifth in the league in scoring behind Philadelphia (39.8), Detroit (39.1), Phoenix (37.3) and Denver (36.7).

Armed with information from the tireless folks at the Elias Sports Bureau, Scott Randall of ESPN Stats and Research followed the dots after the Milwaukee Bucks ended the Dallas Mavericks' 12-game win streak Monday night and found a pot of gold that might interest the Mavs.

Monday was the fifth time in team history that the Bucks have ended a winning streak of at least 12 games. The most famous instance was when Milwaukee ended the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA-record 33-game winning streak on Jan. 9, 1972. The Bucks also ended 12-plus game streaks by the Celtics (1973 -12), 76ers (1983 - 14) and Spurs (2007 - 13).