--F Dirk Nowitzki said he wanted the ball in crunch time Sunday against the Knicks. After scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively, in his previous two games, he poured in a game-high 39 against the Knicks, including seven in overtime.

"We had to get off this (five-game) losing streak, so whatever I had to do, stay aggressive, the team told me to keep shooting and stay aggressive," Nowitzki said. "I was able to get a couple shots in there in overtime so that was good."

--G J.J. Barea is technically the Mavs' backup point guard, but that's not been the case of late. He played barely 14 minutes combined in the past five games until Sunday when he equaled that total against the Knicks.

The third-year guard said he's stayed positive while not playing and it paid off Sunday. He scored seven points, including two second-half three-pointers and had four assists.

"It's great for the team, the organization, for everything," a smiling Barea said of the Mavs' win, "from the top guy down to the little guy."

--G Jason Kidd has been preaching the need for defense in crunch time, something that hasn't happened until Sunday at New York when the Mavs held the Knicks without a field goal in the final 7:24 of regulation and overtime.

"We've been playing close games and the fourth quarter has been a problem for us," Kidd said. "If you are down, you have to get stops, even when we are up we still want to get stops because it kills the momentum."

MEDICAL WATCH:

--G-F Devean George (left hand) missed his 10th game Sunday. He might play Tuesday at Charlotte or Wednesday at Houston.