|
|
Even though the
Dallas Mavericks recently ended a losing streak, they are still not happy with
the way they are playing.
Dallas will try to clinch its fourth consecutive playoff berth when it meets
the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opener of a five-game homestand.
The Mavericks, who are sixth place in the Western Conference, return to American Airlines Center following a 2-3 road trip.
Although the Magic ended the swing with a 118-88 rout of Orlando on Sunday, they were not at all pleased with the trip in general.
``It's nice to win, but I wouldn't get too excited about this one,'' Mavericks coach Don Nelson said.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points to lead six Mavericks in double figures, but
he was more concerned about Dallas losing to Philadelphia, Indiana and Miami.
``It's been a disaster,'' Nowitzki said. ``We lost a lot of games that we would usually win.''
The Mavericks shot 55.6 percent from the field on Sunday, their best effort since Nov. 11, and their 34 assists were their most in more than two months.
``At this point, we're looking for anything positive, to be honest,'' Nelson said. ``We really struggled lately, so to have a good defensive and good offensive effort on the same night makes it nice.''
While the Mavericks need just one win to earn a postseason berth, the Cavaliers are currently ninth in the East -- 1 1/2 games behind Boston for the final playoff spot.
Cleveland has dropped five of its last six, including a 101-93 loss to San Antonio on Monday.
LeBron James, who had a career-high 41 points in Saturday's 107-104 win over New Jersey, scored 18, but most of those came after the Spurs had built a double-digit lead.
The rookie star sat out the entire fourth quarter.
When asked if he struggled, James said, ``Eighteen points in three quarters -- I don't know if I'd really call that struggling.''
Cavaliers coach Paul Silas stressed how important it is for his team to maintain its focus at this point in the season.
``The games mean so much more now -- you are fighting for a playoff spot every night,'' Silas said. ``I think we might have been intimidated. At this time of the year you really have to have been there before to really know about it.''