Mavs aim to keep surging up West standings

DALLAS - Something has clicked for the Dallas Mavericks.

Maybe it's first-year coach Rick Carlisle figuring out his squad. Maybe it's Josh Howard learning to play on his aching ankle. Or maybe it's savvy vets Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki getting cranked up just in time for the playoffs.

Or, maybe it's all of those things.

Regardless, the Mavericks sure have stirred up the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race. With only four games left, there's no telling whether Dallas, Utah or New Orleans will be stuck with the No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavs have spent the last month and a half in that dreaded spot, but high-scoring, runaway victories over Phoenix and Utah have lifted them into a tie with the Jazz for No. 7. The Hornets are No. 6, but are only a game ahead of the Mavs going into a home-and-home series Friday night in Dallas, then in New Orleans on Sunday.

"We've got a little momentum," Carlisle said Thursday. "Now the challenge is to keep it and build on it."

If the Mavs sweep Chris Paul and the Hornets, they'll be a game up on New Orleans with only two games left. If they follow that by winning their last two regular-season games, they wouldn't have to face Bryant and the Lakers until the conference finals - if they get that far.

"We can't be happy or satisfied," Dallas guard Jason Terry said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

Perhaps the biggest work is in the training room.

Howard's left ankle already has kept him out of about one-fourth of the season, including 11 straight games in March. Since he's returned, Dallas has won all four games he's played.

Three of the wins were by at least 20 points. In the other, Howard secured the victory by drawing a foul in the closing seconds. He also missed one game in that stretch - and Dallas lost, to lowly Memphis.

"Without him, we're pretty much trying to scratch and claw to figure it out," Terry said. "With him, we know what we're going to get. We need him out there. Offensively, we can do different things. Defensively, that's where we miss his toughness."

How's this for tough: Against Utah on Wednesday night, Howard was smacked in the face, gushing blood from his nose and leaving a cut over his left eye that quickly began to swell. He still managed to score 13 points and grab a career-high seven steals in a 130-101 victory.

"As long as my eyeball wasn't falling out or I was half dead, I was going to come back out there," he said.

It's a performance sure to be remembered, if for no reason but this: Dallas took its official 2008-09 team photo Thursday.

Nowitzki and Kidd also have been major factors in this well-timed surge, which includes the team's first back-to-back games of at least 125 points in five years.

Nowitzki had 19 points in the third-quarter alone against the Jazz and finished with 31. It was his 21st straight game with at least 20, matching Dwyane Wade for the longest streak in the league this season. Only LeBron James, Wade and Bryant are averaging more points than Nowitzki this season.

Kidd had 20 assists in three quarters against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, powering Dallas to 81 first-half points and 140 total. He also passed Magic Johnson for third place on the league's career assist list that game, then was named the Western Conference player of the week.

Another part of Dallas' success is home sweet home. The Mavs are 12-1 at home since the All-Star break, and three of their four remaining games are at the American Airlines Center. Their last 372 regular-season and playoff games have been sold out.

"A big part of this is our crowd - 19,200," Carlisle said. "It's one of the few buildings in the league that's full every night. We don't take that for granted. We've got to get them involved. When they get involved, it makes it tougher for opponents coming in here."