The public mood in Dallas after Monday's 19-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers was grim with plenty of second-guessing of coach Rick Carlisle's motion offense and Jason Kidd's ability to play at a high level consistently.
Then came Tuesday's game at San Antonio, game No. 4 of 82, and the Mavs looked like a totally different team. Energized at both ends of the floor, defending and rebounding, the Mavs buried the Spurs with a hot start that lasted throughout. The NBA season is a marathon, and nothing reminded of that more than the Mavs' experience on Monday and Tuesday.
"I'm learning more about the personality of our guys," Carlisle said. "And whatever I have to do to facilitate them coming out like they did tonight, I'm going to do."
One thing he did was insert Jason Terry into the starting lineup for the first time this season. He responded with 29 points on 13-of-21 shooting, one night after going 1-of-8 for five points.
"It was huge," Jason Kidd said. "For (Terry) to come in and get going right off the bat was huge for us."
Now 2-2 and 2-0 on the road, the Mavs have two off days before a two-game road trip to face the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers.
"We have two great games coming up, very winnable games," Dirk Nowitzki said.
MAVERICKS 98, SPURS 81: Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and Jason Terry had 29 in a big bounce-back win after getting blown out at home by Cleveland. The Mavs shot 53.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Spurs 45-34. Jason Kidd had control of the offense throughout, finishing with nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, including three offensive boards in the fourth quarter.
