Coming off an 0-4 road trip, Phoenix (34-29) trails eighth-place Dallas (38-25) by four games in its quest for a fifth straight playoff appearance. A loss Tuesday would give the Suns five straight for the first time since a six-game skid in January 2005.

"We're in desperate position," Phoenix point guard Steve Nash said. "Let's do our best, not panic."

Dallas, meanwhile, is trying to improve its playoff position as it opens a four-game road trip. The Mavs still have hopes of moving into one of the top four spots in the West, which would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason.

"Everything is still in reach," Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We just have to play well together and we'll be right there."

The Mavs, though, will have a tough time moving up in the conference if Howard has to miss an extended period of time. The swingman sat out Dallas' 119-103 win over Washington on Saturday night because of a sprained left ankle.

Howard, third on the Mavs with 18.0 points a contest, is scheduled to visit a specialist to determine how long he'll remain out of the lineup. He aggravated the injury in a loss to Oklahoma City on March 2, but toughed it out the entire game in a win over San Antonio on Wednesday night before sitting out the second half of a loss at New Orleans the following evening.

Jason Terry, who returned March 1 after missing eight games with a broken bone in his left hand, matched a season high with 33 points versus the Wizards.

"Without Josh Howard right now, we have to get our attempts up," said Terry, averaging 19.7 points in 55 games. "It's a big void to fill. Dirk and I taking 20 or 25 shots a night wouldn't be crazy."

Nowitzki led the Mavs with 34 points, and is averaging 29.7 in his last six games. The veteran forward is averaging 30.6 points in his last 10 contests against the Suns, including a 39-point effort in Dallas' 112-97 win Dec. 4.

Phoenix evened the season series as Shaquille O'Neal had a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in a 128-100 win Jan. 9.

O'Neal was held to 14 points on 6-for-16 shooting in Phoenix's 103-98 loss to San Antonio on Sunday. The losing streak has dropped the Suns to 6-6 under coach Alvin Gentry, who replaced Terry Porter after the All-Star break.

Nash has been one of Phoenix's few bright spots over the last four games, averaging 26.0 points and shooting 55.0 percent. He was held to nine points in January's matchup with the Mavs after averaging 22.3 points in his previous eight meetings against them.