Full-Court Press

Get ready to rumble

The Mavericks are trying to downplay it. But they clearly are stoked about being back in Denver to tackle the Nuggets, who knocked them out of the playoffs last season.

"This is one of the best teams in the West,'' Rick Carlisle said. "Actually, two of the best teams in the West. We know they're a good team and it's been awhile since we've won here. So we're going to throw the kitchen sink at them and I'm sure they'll do the same.''

As Jason Terry said, there's not much to say. "We'll just let our play speak for itself.''

Gooden says he'll play

The Mavericks will have backup center Drew Gooden for tonight's game, even though his lower back remains tight, he said.

Gooden missed Sunday's game against Memphis when he had back spasms. He said the only thing he could of that caused them was too much holiday cheer.

"We've been sitting around too much the last few days,'' he said. "There's too much turkey and stuffing.''

A clarification

OK, so Arron Afflalo always starts for the Nuggets.

The real starter in Chauncey Billups' place likely will be Anthony Carter or Ty Lawson.

Mavs won't see Billups

Dirk Nowitzki loves to say that the whole Western Conference is still mad at Detroit GM Joe Dumars for shipping Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets.

The good news is that the Mavericks won't see him tonight. Billups has been ruled out of the next two games with a lingering left groin strain.

The Nuggets said he did not re-injure the groin muscle when he played 20 minutes at Portland on Christmas night.

The injury just wasn't ready for him to return. Expect Arron Afflalo to start in Billups' place.

Mavs prevail down the stretch

The Mavericks made just enough plays down the stretch to take a 105-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center.

Dirk Nowitzki, one game removed from saying he felt like he needed to do it all in the fourth quarter for the Mavericks to be successful, watched Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd make big plays down the stretch as the Mavericks set themselves up for a four-game road trip with a nice home win.

Nowitzki had 20 points, but Terry chipped in 23 and found his outside shot with three 3-pointers.

Terry hit two free throws with 20.6 seconds left to put the Mavericks up 103-98 and they took care of business the rest of the way.

Howard added 11, eight in the fourth quarter and Kidd had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists as the Mavericks placed seven players in double figures for the first time this season.

The Mavericks head to Denver for tomorrow night's game.

Dirk gets some help

For a change, Dirk Nowitzki isn't having to do it all in the fourth quarter.

Josh Howard, Jet Terry and Jason Kidd have scored the points during a 7-2 surge that has put the Mavericks up 94-88 with 4:11 to go.

For the first time, the crowd is into it and the Mavericks look like they're having fun on the court.

Mavs flash some defense

The Grizzlies are 1-for-4 in the fourth quarter and have a couple of turnovers in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks have moved ahead 85-79 and have the ball coming out of the timeout.

This would be a really good time for them to crank up the gas and try to suffocate the Bears.

And they were doing it with a group of J.J. Barea, Jet Terry, Josh Howard, Kris Humphries and Tim Thomas on the court.

Centers of attention

Erick Dampier just went out with three fouls, but he's had a near-flawless game, making all five of his shots. He's got 10 points and nine boards late in the third.

On the other side, Marc Gasol has 13 points and nine rebounds and 13 points. Both have played well and caused problems for the other side.

Meanwhile, Zach Randolph has cooled off a bit. He's got just seven points since the first quarter and the Mavericks are up 75-71.

Mavs figure it out

Since they can't stop the Grizzlies, they're going to have to outscore them for awhile.

Both teams are shooting better than 50 percent and the Mavericks have scored on virtually every possession in the third quarter to move ahead 67-64.

Zach Randolph and the Grizz are a handful on the offensive end. But they have never been confused with lock-down defenders.

The Mavericks are seven of 10 from the field in the second half.

The Grizz, actually, just slipped under 50 percent for the game. But they're still rolling on offense, simply because of their offensive rebounding.

Mavs knew Zebo would be tough

Here's what Rick Carlisle had to say about Zach Randolph before today's game:

"He's averaging 30 and 19 in the last three games. He's playing great and he's a factor in so many ways. It's a tough job (guarding him). We'll have some different guys who will get shots at him. He's a very versatile scorer. And he's lefty which tends to be a little more difficult to guard than righty.

"He's a major reason why they've taken a step up.''

There was truth in Carlisle's advertising. Zebo has 21 points and eight rebounds at halftime and the Grizzlies, who have won seven of their last 10, are up 55-53.