Full-Court Press

No Damp, either

OK, so remind me again how the Mavericks are going to win this game?

They not only will be without Jason Kidd, who is tending to a family matter, but they won't have Erick Dampier, either.

He's going to sit out with his left knee problem that continues to nag at him.

So Drew Gooden will get a long run at center.

Maybe that wounded-warrior theory will work for the Mavericks this time instead of against them. They have lost to San Antonio without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili and to Golden State with only six players.

Now it's their turn to be short on bodies.

Life without JK

The Mavericks will find out in a couple hours what it's like to play without their conductor.

Don't expect beautiful music.

Jason Kidd won't play today. He's tending to a personal matter that has been described to me by team folks as "nothing crazy.''

Not sure what's up with that, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.

The starter at point guard, most likely will be Jason Terry or Roddy Beaubois. It would seem likely that Josh Howard will be back in the starting lineup, but if he is coming off the bench again, that might mean a start for Quinton Ross.

Mavs deserved to lose this one

They played poorly and paid the price for it.

The Sixers claimed a 92-81 victory and it could have been a lot worse.

The Mavericks never got close down the stretch. The Sixers lead was never below nine.

That levels the road trip record at 2-2.

Terry exits in pain

Mavs' athletic trainer Casey Smith appears to be looking at Jet Terry's left knee after Terry left the game with about 5:45 left.

Terry almost never misses games unless something's serious. This doesn't appear to be in that category.

Meanwhile, Mavs are down 85-74 with 4:30 to go.

This game's a goner

There's still 7:37 to go, but it's hard to see any way the Mavericks make up the 81-67 deficit they're looking at.

They can't make any shots. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are a combined 4-for-19.

The Mavs are 3-for-9 in the fourth quarter and are down to 38.6 percent for the game.

Jason Kidd, Drew Gooden and Shawn Marion are the only Mavs who seem to have anything going.

But at least the arena has perked up. The big screen just showed a fan in a Mark Sanchez jersey. The fans booed him heavily.

Hatred for all things New York, including the Jets, runs deep here.

Mavs lucky so far

They should be down by 15 or 20 points, but right now, they are only behind 67-56.

They are 4-of-14 in the third quarter with four turnovers.

They've actually played decent defense. But they are taking jump shots like they are free lottery tickets.

Jason Terry is abysmal. Dirk Nowitzki isn't any better (both are 2-of-8).

Drew Gooden is coming in at this timeout. Maybe it will help.

Marion a quick healer

Wearing nothing but a wrap on one of his right fingers, Shawn Marion came back to play the final moments of the first half.

His cut must have been stitched up in good order.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks made a mild rally late in the half and only trail 54-48 at the break.

I'd be shocked if they don't come up with a strong second half.

Howard, Barea breaking out?

Howard has hit three of his last four shots and J.J. Barea just knocked down a jumper.

Maybe both are coming out of their shooting slumps.

Howard had gone 6-for-31 over three games and Barea was 1-for-10 at Washington.

With them hitting some shots, things get a lot easier for the Mavericks.

Of course, they are down 41-35 midway through the second quarter.

Mavs in a struggle now

The Sixers have grabbed their first lead of the game and now the Mavericks are neck-deep in a back-and-forth game, which currently has the Mavericks up 33-32.

The manpower shortage without Marion and Tim Thomas means you could see some odd lineups on the floor.

Shawn likely out

Shawn Marion suffered a laceration on his right hand and is being looked at in the locker room.

His return is doubtful.

That's terrible news for the Mavericks, considering the role Marion has been on. He started the game with eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter.