Of course any team that holds its opponent to a mediocre shooting percentage and wins the battle of the boards is more than likely going to put up the 'W'.
The Mavericks, however, have taken things to the extreme. In other words, when they win, they typically play well defensively, get stops, get some transition buckets and hit the boards. When they lose, it's the total opposite. They've developed quite a knack for looking as if they'd rather not even be playing.
Entering Sunday's game against Toronto, when the Mavs hold opponents to less than 45 percent shooting they've won 23 out of 30 games.
So it came as no surprise Sunday against the disheartened Raptors that the Mavs' defense limited Toronto to 37.4 percent shooting and just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc.
The Mavs have one more should-be cakewalk Monday night at Oklahoma City. The Thunder is expected to again be without Kevin Durant.
Then comes a real test for the Mavs' defense in a back-to-back against San Antonio and New Orleans. The Mavs are 1-3 against those two teams this season.
MAVERICKS 109, RAPTORS 98: Dirk Nowitzki led five players in double-figures with 24 points plus 10 rebounds and five assists. Josh Howard had 16 points, Antoine Wright contributed 15 in another solid performance and James Singleton continued his hard-nosed work with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Brandon Bass also had 10 points and Jason Terry added eight in his first game back from a broken left hand. Jason Kidd had nine points and dished out 15 assists to push him past the 10,000-assist barrier. Toronto stayed within striking distance for much of the game, but Chris Bosh (28 points, 10 rebounds) had little help.
