--Rick Carlisle put Jason Terry back in his familiar sixth-man role Tuesday after a rare start. The shooting guard spot has been a revolving door with Josh Howard out, so Carlisle tried Terry there Friday against Atlanta. While starting is old hat for Terry going back to his days in Atlanta, the Mavs' second unit was left with little firepower. Carlisle started J.J. Barea with Kidd in the backcourt against Phoenix, bringing Terry in midway through the first period. Terry would score 15 off the bench, but the second-unit also got a much-needed boost from Josh Howard's 20 points. Dallas' bench outscored Phoenix's reserves 38-18.
--The novelty of playing Phoenix has worn off somewhat for Shawn Marion. After all, he's done it with Miami and Toronto the last two seasons.
But Marion faced his original club for the first time Tuesday playing for one of the Suns' main rivals in the Western Conference.
"It's a little weird," Marion said, "but at the same time, it's in the past."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "So that felt like a little deja vu, but we hung on (Tuesday night) and got a good win." -- Forward Dirk Nowitzki, on Steve Nash rallying the Suns in the fourth quarter, much as Nash did in the 2005 playoffs.
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