And the Griz just aren't very good when they get away from their game plans, something coach Marc Iavaroni wishes he was wrong about.

Both of those elements factored heavily Tuesday night when the Grizzlies dropped their fourth straight game, this time a 100-82 decision to the Mavs in American Airlines Center.

While Mavs coach Rick Carlisle applauded his team's defensive effort on Gay and Mayo, Iavaroni lamented the Grizzlies' overall lack of execution that led to 38-percent shooting and a lot of broken plays.

Some games develop quicker than Polaroid instant pictures, and the early returns weren't flattering. Memphis scored just 12 points in the opening quarter, missed 17 of their first 21 shots and dug a 10-point hole they couldn't climb out of.

"It was an up-and-down effort," Griz coach Marc Iavaroni said. "We didn't come out with enough energy. We were random. We didn't get into any sets."

Thanks to the Grizzlies' consistent and scrappy defensive effort, the game was closer than the final score suggested. But when it appeared they could seriously threaten, the Griz appeared out of sync and bullets.

Consider this: Memphis managed to cut the score to 89-80 on a Greg Buckner 3-pointer with 3:40 left in the fourth period. After forcing Dallas' Jason Terry to miss a 3-pointer on the other end, the Griz had a chance to cut into the deficit some more.

But Gay launched a quick, arguably ill-advised 3-pointer that bounced off and helped make Iavaroni's point about poor shot selection. Dirk Nowitzki answered with a three-point play that put away the Griz for good.

"We didn't need a three," Iavaroni said. "We just needed a basket, cut it to seven and put more pressure on them."

Hakim Warrick led the Griz with 17 points off the bench. Gay had 16, and Kyle Lowry added 15 points as the Griz lost their 13th straight game to the Mavs. Mayo had his second rough shooting night in three games, and finished with seven points.

"We made a big point of emphasis that we had to keep Gay and Mayo from big nights," Carlisle said. "When you hold them to no 20-point scorers that's going to put you in a position to win. That was a big part of the game."

Mayo missed eight of 10 shots. Gay was 6 of 14 from the field.

"I guess I was a little rusty," said Mayo, who missed his first four shots. "Maybe it had something to do with the back-to-back. (Friday) night was a tough game."

The Griz were coming off a home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers whom they played close until the game's final three minutes.

There was no carry-over effort.

Memphis missed 10 straight shots, and didn't score a field goal over the final 6:13 of the opening frame. Dallas ended the first quarter on a 14-2 run, which included 12 unanswered points.

Dallas scored its first 16 points in the paint, and took a 22-12 lead.

"At times we just didn't know what we were doing," Gay said. "We knew we had to get our work done early because they like to run. When we got behind like that it was tough to catch them, especially on a back-to-back."

Although the Griz got within six points in the second period, they trailed 42-32 at halftime. Their deficit was 10 after three quarters.

Nowitzki shook off a slow start and led the Mavs with 21 points. Nowitzki missed his first seven shots but then made 9 of 12. Terry added 17 points off the Mavs' bench.

Dallas outscored Memphis 21-4 in fast-break points.

"Once we got the stops we really got our fast-break going," Nowitzki said. "We're not going to keep teams in the 30s shooting on a consistent basis. But if we can keep them in the low 40s that's a good goal for us to have."

The Grizzlies' first-half point total was their lowest-scoring half of the season. The Mavs are 9-0 this season when holding an opponent to less than 90 points.

Memphis now owns a 1-14 all-time record in Dallas. The Grizzlies' only road win against the Mavs was on Nov. 26, 2005.

"It's tough when you start out behind on teams like this," Warrick said. "You can't get off to bad starts because you spend too much energy trying to get back. We knew we had to be focused. We knew this was going to be a tough game."

- Ronald Tillery: 529-2353