The Mavericks played their 18th game of the season Monday night. Only Indiana has hit the floor more often so far this season. But now the schedule slows down. After playing Friday and Saturday later this week, the Mavericks play only 11 times over 26 days. They have only one back-to-back after that point for the rest of the month. The extra time off should do wonders for the walking wounded. Josh Howard is expected back sometime in December. Shawn Marion has been playing with a sore ankle.
Dirk Nowitzki, for one, can't wait to see how good the Mavericks are when they're healthy. They are 13-5.
"We scrambled, actually, to win some of those games against the lesser opponents with the lineups we had," Nowitzki said. "We haven't really scratched the surface yet with all the guys out."
He added: "The record's decent, but we won't get carried away. It's nothing phenomenal."
MAVERICKS 104, SIXERS 102: Jason Terry nailed a baseline jumper with 1.4 seconds left to beat Philadelphia at home Monday night. The Mavericks improved to 13-5 with their eighth win in 10 games.
Dirk Nowitzki paced the Mavericks with 28 points, while Jason Terry had a career-high 22 points and 11 assists. Drew Gooden also had a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) off the bench.
The Mavericks led throughout but weren't able to put away the pesky visitors. Willie Green (23 points) led three Sixers who scored at least 19. Andre Iguodala missed a potential game-tying 19-footer at the buzzer.
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