Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
New Orleans Hornets (31-28) at Dallas Mavericks (38-21)
If the Dallas Mavericks were flying under the radar coming out of the All-Star break, they certainly aren't anymore.
Winners of six straight, riding the NBA's longest current winning streak, the Mavericks have grabbed the league's full attention. After Friday night's epic 111-103 overtime comeback on the road against the Atlanta Hawks, the Mavericks reaffirmed that they are a team on a mission.
"We have to make (Friday night's win) momentum and keep it going the right way," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
Down as much as 16 at one point in the second half against the Hawks, the Mavericks refused to go quietly into the night. Outscoring Atlanta 34-23 in the fourth quarter and 12-4 in overtime, the Mavericks notched their 38th victory in dramatic fashion.
"To come back and get this win is phenomenal," sixth man Jason Terry said after the victory in Atlanta. "We really needed this win to boost our confidence as we go through the second part of this season."
Much of the credit for the Mavs' most recent win has to go to point guard Jason Kidd. The 36-year-old and his 104th career triple-double willed the Mavs to a win in a hostile environment. Kidd finished the night with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 17 assists.
"We have a true point guard in (Kidd), and his stat line speaks to that. More than that, he just led us, and led us to a big victory," Terry said of his backcourt mate.
"He's a Hall-of-Famer. I keep saying it, but they should just put him in now. It shouldn't be a first or second or third ballot -- the first active player to ever be in the Hall of Fame."
But now the Kidd-led Mavericks are no longer the overlooked. Now they are the hunted.
The New Orleans Hornets enter Dallas with full intentions of stinging the Mavs on the American Airlines Center floor, in a Southwest Division matchup between the first place and third place squads. The Mavericks, leading the division by 4 1/2 games over the San Antonio Spurs, are a full seven games ahead of the Hornets in the standings. The season series is tied 1-1.
"The key is not to have letdowns," Carlisle said of the matchup. "New Orleans is a quality team. If you don't play, they're going to beat you."
The Hornets will once again be taking the court without All-Star point guard Chris Paul. The cat-quick Paul underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 4.
With no Paul, rookie Darren Collison has stepped up in a big way at the lead guard spot. Former All-Star David West has also elevated his game, coming off of a 40-point, 10-rebound night in a 100-93 home win over Orlando on Friday night.
"They play a little bit faster (without Paul)...West is coming off of a 40-point game, so we're going to have our hands full," the coach added. "Since Paul went out, (Collison) is averaging 20 points and nine assists, and he's had one triple-double.
"Chris Paul is a guy that's irreplaceable, in terms of everything that he does. But Collison has done a tremendous job for them."
While the Hornets have tried to replace Paul's output, the Mavericks have been forced to play without swingman Caron Butler the past two games.
Butler has been sidelined after a bad reaction to medication before the Mavs' 101-93 win on Wednesday night. While the two-time All-Star is officially listed as a game-time decision, he expects to return to the court against the Hornets."I feel much better," Butler said after the team's Sunday morning shootaround. "I came in yesterday on the day off and got a real good workout in. Obviously I'm looking forward to playing tonight against a good Hornets team."
The Mavericks will look to run their win streak to seven, with the game airing nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 8:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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