Division rival Houston on Wednesday.

Talk about a change of scenery for the Mavs after escaping Madison

Square Garden on Sunday with an overtime victory that snapped a

grueling five-game losing streak. The Charlotte mausoleum, also known

as Time Warner Cable Arena, is an abomination.

But, so are Larry Brown's Bobcats. How bad did it get for the

Bobcats? Mavs forward Shawne Williams, who hadn't played since a

three-minute stint on Nov. 9, saw first-quarter playing time.

"We had it going the whole game except four minutes in the fourth

quarter," coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm not sure what we were doing,

but we can't complain about a win."

The Mavs, winners of two in row for the first time this season,

needed a light night considering the storm winds blowing around them.

They arrived in Charlotte to news that the U.S. Securities and

Exchange Commission was accusing owner Mark Cuban of insider trading.

Later Monday, veteran Jerry Stackhouse publicly stated that he's

not interested in accepting a reduced role and he wants to be traded

or released.

MAVERICKS 100, BOBCATS 83: A 15-0 run in the opening six minutes

pretty much sealed the victory. The Mavs led 28-10 at the end of the

first quarter and coach Rick Carlisle used the rest of the game to

finally give his regulars some reduced minutes, while tinkering with

different rotation combinations. Dirk Nowitzki outscored Charlotte's

starting five, 32-26. Josh Howard had 21 points and Jason Terry scored

15.