Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (30-15) at Phoenix Suns (26-21)
In their past two games, the Dallas Mavericks have won by an average margin of victory of nearly 26 points per game.
The funny thing is, one of those wins was a franchise record for the largest margin of victory in team history, a 128-78 road win in New York, and the other was Dallas' 10th straight win in games decided by one point. After tying the best streak in NBA history for consecutive wins in one-point contest, with a 108-107 home win over Milwaukee, the Mavericks are just proud to say that they have collected back-to-back wins.
"Hey, a win is a win, whether you win by one or you win by 50," Mavs guard Jason Terry said.
Though the Mavericks would prefer a result closer to the ladder on a nightly basis.
Fittingly, the Mavericks claimed just a one-point victory, a 102-101 home win, over the Phoenix Suns in their Dec. 8 meeting. It was a game the Mavs had a stranglehold of, but the Suns refused to go away late behind clutch 3-point shooting from former Mav Steve Nash.
Dallas expects another tightly contested game when they enter Phoenix for the second matchup between the two teams. Thursday night, forward Dirk Nowitzki will set a new franchise mark for the most games played in a Maverick uniform. After seeing this Phoenix team once this season, Nowitzki says this Suns squad reminds him more of the rival that the Mavericks met seemingly every year in the playoffs earlier in the decade.
"They really spread the floor well. They really went back to the offense they used to run...It's going to be a challenge, but I think defensively we've been good pretty much all year," the 7-footer said.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
With Nash and big man Amar'e Stoudemire, the Suns feature two Western Conference All-Star starters. The two stars give any team a great deal of concern on the defensive end, and point guard Jason Kidd says the Mavericks are no different.
"(The Suns) can put up a lot of points in a hurry. They love the three-ball. Nash and Stoudemire are one of the top tandems in the league, so you've got your work cut out. They play extremely well at home, they just came off of a tough lost to Charlotte, so we've got our hands full," Kidd said.
Offensively, the Mavericks are riding the "jet stream" of having Terry in the starting lineup. The team is 3-1 since Terry took over the shooting guard spot in the first unit.
"We all know (Terry) can score, he defends and I think for him it's more of a comfort level starting...With JET (Terry) starting, I think his level of play has certainly risen. He's helped us a lot on getting off to a good start," Kidd said of his backcourt mate.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
Terry, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, would like to stay a first-stringer after his 21-point night against Milwaukee.
"I've put my bid in and I think Coach knows going forward...I'm comfortable in that role and hopefully we can continue to get wins," Terry added.
For Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, the decision over who starts is a fluid concept. With Terry, Josh Howard, J.J. Barea and rookie Rodrigue Beaubois all seeing time this season at the two guard spot, the decision over who starts has only made the Dallas bench more explosive.
"The policy around here, we don't talk about lineups," Carlisle said. "Whoever is coming off the bench, whether it's JET or Barea or Josh or the combination of all of them, we expect all those guys to perform and perform well."
All of the Mavericks will have an opportunity to perform well on a national stage, as Thursday night's game will air nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Dallas returns home to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air locally on TXA 21, TXA HD and HD NET at 8 p.m. CT. The Mavericks will be out to avenge an 85-81 home loss on Dec. 22.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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