Full-Court Press

Random thoughts from the loss to Denver

The Mavericks played hard and even played well at times. Just not enough times.

Here's a few of the scenes and thoughts from the evening that linger in the brain:

1. I know the NBA is a fraternity and most players know each other well and even pal around in the off-season with each other, even though they aren't on the same teams. Still, it was a little hard to swallow seeing Josh Howard, Jason Kidd and Jerry Stackhouse chatting, smiling and man-hugging Carmelo Anthony after Anthony had just torched the Mavericks for 43 points and while Antoine Wright was still trying to get at Denver's J.R. Smith in the post-game walk to the locker room. It's just not good form.

2. Wright wanted a shot to cover Anthony, but he was charged with handling Chauncey Billups, which he did quite well. But that left Anthony free to torch whoever got near him, which not many Mavericks did, by the way.

3. It was a curious move that Rick Carlisle took out Ryan Hollins late in the game. He'd energized the team. Similarly, having Wright on the floor for the last offensive possession was odd. He was 0-for-6 to that point and had just missed two free throws. Confidence was not high. But when a game comes down to a wide-open shot from inside 20 feet for Dirk Nowitzki, it's hard to quibble with coaching moves.

4. The Mavericks couldn't make enough shots or enough stops. That is a reflection of not having Kidd. Had he been in the game, they would have shot better than 36 percent and Denver would have shot worse than 56 percent.

5. It does not ruin the Mavericks stretch run. They still have an excellent shot to move up in the standings. Of greater import is getting Kidd and Howard healthy before April 15. Without them at or near full strength, you can forget about the Mavericks making any noise in the playoffs.

--Eddie Sefko

A little love for the boys

The Mavericks are up by a point at the end of the first quarter and you can credit their effort for their success. In fact,Jason Terry has been hitting the boards and everybody has been hitting the floor to try to win all the hustle stats that the Mavericks can.

OK, so Terry and Dirk Nowitzki have 22 of their 23 points until James Singleton nailed a corner 3-pointer just before the quarter ended.

Doesn't matter. Nights like tonight are about finding ways to get it done. So far, so good.

--Eddie Sefko

Mavericks fall by two

The Mavericks didn't have Jason Kidd Friday night, and in the end, they had no victory either for the first time in more than a month at American Airlines Center.

The Denver Nuggets got a huge night, plus a winning bucket from Carmelo Anthony to take a 103-101 victory over the Mavericks.

It was a spirited game in which the Mavericks gave themselves plenty of chances to win, but could not cash in.

Stuck in a two-point game going into the final three minutes, the Mavericks could not have asked for a better chance to take a short-handed victory.

And they gave themselves plenty of opportunities with some solid defensive stands.

But their offense left plenty to be desired. Antoine Wright, who had a stellar defensive night, missed two free throws and Barea and Nowitzki bricked 3-pointers.

But Barea finally nailed one for a 96-95 lead. J.R. Smith answered quickly for the Nuggets, but Jason Terry got fouled and his two free throws with 58.5 to go made it 98-98.

Again, Anthony came through, cutting up the Mavericks' defense for a foul and two free throws with 43 ticks showing.

That set up Barea, who took a pass from Wright and stepped into a 3-pointer that was all net for a 101-100 Mavericks' lead.

Again, Anthony took things into his extremely hot hands. This time he sliced in for a tough, contested layup that put the Nuggets back up by a point with 12.2 to go.

That gave Anthony 42 points, the most he's had against the Mavericks.

The Mavericks' last gasp ended when Nowitzki and Wright both missed jumpers and the Nuggets got the rebound.

It ended the Mavericks' nine-game home winning streak, during which they had beaten teams by an average of nearly 13 points.

The Mavericks had to fend for themselves without Kidd for the first time this season. He'd started the first 71 games and they found out the quickly just how tough it is without their quarterback.

The Mavericks had to get by with hustle plays and continual battling on the backboard. Their rebounding helped give them loads of second chances.

Still, they had trouble keeping pace with the Nuggets, who were getting drop-dead gorgeous shooting from Anthony and J.R. Smith.

That pair led them to an 11-point lead late in the third quarter and an 86-76 cushion starting the fourth.

That's when one of the most entertaining stretches of the season unfolded.

When J.J. Barea threw in a 3-pointer with 8:48 left, the Mavericks sliced the lead to 88-83. The Nuggets were in the middle of a four-minute-plus dry spell that ended when Ryan Hollins swatted a point-blank shot by Chris Andersen with 7:08 to go.

Brandon Bass connected from the baseline and when Barea knocked in another trey, it was 88-88.

Anthony finally got the Nuggets back in front when he followed his own shot, but the crowd was cranked up by that point. The Mavericks got five consecutive points, two on a fast break after another block by Hollins, to go up 93-90.

The Nuggets were far from done, however. Anthony remained monstrously hot with a 3-pointer with 3:19 to go that regained the lead for the Nuggets at 95-93.

Earlier, the Maveircks had bought a lot of time in the second quarter with Dirk Nowitzki on the bench. They went more than seven minutes without him on the court and still had a 43-41 lead.

Antoine Wright had the duty of guarding Chauncey Billups, which left James Singleton and a mishmash of others to try to slow down Carmelo Anthony. Not much of it was working as the Nuggets shot well over 50 percent all night.

Briefly: Mark Cuban, who has said before that his dabble into baseball ownership began and ended with his failed bid for the Chicago Cubs, said before Friday's game that he has no interest in owning a piece of the Rangers ...

--Eddie Sefko

What might have been

George Karl is a big fan of Antoine Wright's, just not when he has to play against him.

The Denver coach said earlier today that he thought Wright would be playing in a Nuggets uniform this season. He's always liked the swingman's defensive ability, particularly when he's matched up against Carmelo Anthony.

"Antoine's done a good job on Melo in the past,'' Karl said. "Antoine is a legit battler. He's physical. We considered trying to sign Antoine Wright this summer. We were very much interested in him.

We thought we had a shot and then he signed with Dallas.''

--Eddie Sefko

Another SportsCenter moment

And this one will not look good for the Mavericks, either.

A few weeks ago, New Orleans' Chris Paul dribbled the ball between Jason Terry's legs en route to a fast break that was on YouTube within hours and made all the highlight reels.

Just now, in the third quarter, Denver's Carmelo Anthony picked off a pass and then dribbled the ball around Dirk Nowitzki's body, picking it up on the other side and eventually hitting an easy jump shot to finish off the break.

--Eddie Sefko

Kidd not likely to play

Jason Kidd was doing stretching exercises before the game, but owner Mark Cuban said it appears Kidd will be a scratch for tonight's game against Denver.

Kidd has lower back pain from a fall he took against Golden State on Wednesday.

Rick Carlisle left the door open for a Kidd sighting, but it appears he'll sit this one out and try to be ready for next week's string of difficult games.

Not a bad idea, by the way. Take your chances at home and see if you can grind out a win without him.

"Maybe we'll be the team this time that is missing a lot of key players and comes up with a big game,'' Cuban said.

--Eddie Sefko

Nuggets have a chance for a special trip

The Denver Nuggets are 1-1 on their trip that ends tonight at AAC and coach George Karl said a win would punctuate what would be a "special'' trip.

A key to that will be Chauncey Billups, of course. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle had Billups in Detroit, essentially kick-starting Billups' career.

"He's a class person and a class player,'' Carlisle said of Billups. "He's about all the right things. He's a real team-oriented guy. He went through four or five years of difficult circumstances, a lot of different teams and a lot of injury problems. Through all that, he kept believing in himself. When we got him in Detroit, we gave him the ball and felt he could really play point guard and run a team. That's something everybody had kind of questioned. From that point on, he's been an all-star caliber player and a clutch player and a winning player and he's brought a lot of those qualities to Denver's situation.''

The Nuggets are 3-0 against the Mavericks this season and are looking for the sweep tonight. Denver has never swept a season series from the Mavericks, which is hard to believe given how bad the Mavericks were in the '90s.

--Eddie Sefko

A hedge bet that Kidd will play tonight

There's nothing firm that has been decided, but when a guy has played all 71 games so far, it's not a reach to say he's likely to play No. 72.

But Jason Kidd missed the shootaround this morning with lower-back soreness and spent the time getting treatment in the training room. The last few games, Kidd hasn't looked as spry as he usually does for a guy who turned 36 four days ago.

It might not be a bad idea to give Kidd some well-timed rest in the final 20 days of the season.

Erick Dampier said he noticed Kidd's absence at the shootaround but didn't have any inside information. He did seem to give us a clue, though, that the back issue might be something the Mavericks have to deal with.

"If he's here, we'll look forward to having him on the floor,'' Dampier said. "If he can't go, maybe we'll get him back a week or so later.''

Hmmm. Maybe that really was a hint. Or maybe it's a smokescreen for tonight's opponent, the Denver Nuggets.

By the way, Nene will not play for the Nuggets tonight. He is serving Game 2 of his suspension for head-butting Phoenix's Louis Amundson. Nene has appealed, but that's mainly to try to recoup the salary he's lost for the two-game suspension.

--Eddie Sefko

Deja Arizona

Let me guess. You're one of those fans who doesn't care where the Mavericks finish in the standings. You don't think they'll be around long enough to get excited about.

Well, Jason Terry would like to refer you to his alma mater.

Arizona's prospects of making the NCAA tournament were in question. Few expected them to do much once they got in. Now, they face Louisville in the final 16.

"This year we shouldn't even be in the tournament, similar to what the Mavericks are going to do this year,'' Terry said. "We shouldn't even be in the playoffs, so they say, but we're going to make some noise.''

Not sure who they are, but you get the point.

_ David Moore

The Suns conundrum

I admit it. I just wanted to get the word conundrum in a headline. But it does apply.

The Mavericks are trying to keep Phoenix in their rear view mirror. The more the Suns win _ it's now six straight and counting _ the longer it delays the Mavericks securing a playoff spot.

But here's the other side of the equation. The more the Suns win against teams ahead of the Mavericks in the standings, as they did Wednesday night against Utah, the better chance the Mavericks have to move up and out of the No. 8 seed. Every Phoenix win against the top teams in the West drags those teams back toward Dallas.

The Suns have five games left against teams ahead of them in the West standings. What do you think? Is it better for the Mavericks if they win most of those games, or lose them?

_ David Moore