After today's loss against the Lakers, the Mavericks currently hold just two less losses than the ninth-place Suns and the tenth-place Jazz. Denver's win against Houston tonight places them only a half-game behind the Mavericks for the sixth spot, and the Rockets would be 1.5 games behind. Luckily for the Dallas, they own the tie-breaker against the Nuggets, Suns, Rockets, and Jazz. However, both Utah and Houston will still have their chances to spoil the Mavericks' standing in the Western conference as their respective matchups against Dallas this week could have major implications. Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas presents the hot topics surrounding the team tonight:
- Owner Mark Cuban has lobbied to make basket interference calls reviewable during the last two minutes of regulation and overtime. This stemmed from a crucial play in which the Lakers took a 2-point lead in overtime after Pau Gasol knocked down a three point shot. Matt Barnes appeared to have touched the ball while it was in the cylinder and even acknowledged it afterward, according to Cuban.
- Dirk Nowitzki is in the midst of a shooting slump and insists that despite his 9-for-28 performance today, being a volume shooter is not how he wants to play. Dirk is shooting 38.3% from the field over his last five games.
- Jason Terry briefly recounts the last play in overtime in which he came up short on a drive to the basket.