DALLAS -- After tonight's home game against the Sacramento Kings, the Dallas Mavericks won't play another game until a week from day at home against the Orlando Magic.
Thus, nothing would appease the Mavs more than to go into this weekend's annual All-Star break in a positive mood. Especially after they blew Monday's home game to the Atlanta Hawks, 105-101.
"We've got to approach tonight with the right kind of edge, that's the biggest thing,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "We had a good edge going and then we lost it against Atlanta.
"By the time we were able to get it back in the second half it was too late to salvage it.''
The Mavs are 22-29 and will have to stack a lot of wins together in order to reach the No. 8 playoff spot in the Western Conference. So they can ill-afford to lose tonight to the Kings (19-34), who may be moving to Seattle following this season.
Forward Shawn Marion said: "It'll be a great win to go into the break a little more at ease than it is going in with a loss.''
More than anything, the Mavs know they can't fall into an 0-10 hole tonight less than four minutes into the game the way they did against the Hawks. Tipoff is at 7:30 at American Airlines Center.
"NBA basketball is tough,'' Carlisle said. "It's 48 minutes, and you've got to be right for 48 minutes and we were not right the other night.
"Our goal tonight is to be right from the very beginning, because this is a team you have to respect.''
-- Dwain Price
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