--F Josh Howard missed his second consecutive game with a left ankle injury that occurred during Tuesday's game at Charlotte when a Bobcats player fell on Howard's ankle.
Howard seemed fine, but the ankle swelled overnight. He missed the Houston game on Wednesday and tested the ankle before Friday's game, but decided to give it more rest. "He's been doing everything," coach Rick Carlisle said of Howard's game. "He's been guarding and getting a lot of rebounds... He's just been playing great basketball."
After grabbing a career-high 7.0 rebounds a game last season, Howard is averaging 8.2 a game, just off Dirk Nowitzki's team-high 8.3. Howard's 20.3 points a game is also on pace to outdo last season's career-high 19.9 scoring average.
--The Mavs tasted victory at home for the first time this season. At 1-4, the Mavs are already more than halfway to their total number of home losses last season (34-7).
"This has been such a strong home court for so many years, so to start out with losses was difficult," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But the team has responded and we just have to build momentum."
--G-F Jerry Stackhouse returned to the team after remaining in his native North Carolina to visit family as he rehabs his injured right heel.
Stackhouse remains out indefinitely and is sticking by his request to be traded to pursue a larger role with another team.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Nothing beats winning. If you lose all the time, it's not fun to be around a losing program. We had to get it turned around quick. That New York win was big. We found a way to get that win. And we all know this league is a lot about confidence. If you have confidence down the stretch, you're going to beat some people." -- Dirk Nowitzki, on the team turning a five-game winning skid into a four-game win streak.
