But the Mavericks' sixth man is back with enough time to integrate himself into the rotation. The team now has six-and-a-half weeks to come together and build some momentum heading into the playoffs.

That wasn't about to happen with Terry on the sidelines.

The Mavericks were decent in Terry's absence. They went 5-3 and lost minimal ground.

But all decent gets you in the Western Conference is a first-round matchup against the LA Lakers or San Antonio Spurs and a quick exit.

The margin of error is razor thin with these Mavericks. Remove Terry and his 20 points a game, subtract his fourth-quarter presence and emotional impact, and you have a team that has no chance against the conference elite.

"He's an All-Star player for us," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "You miss everything. You miss the scoring, the spiritual lift he gives you.

"He's very well thought of on our team."

Some suggest the Mavericks will be better off in the long run because of Terry's absence. The emergence of Antoine Wright and James Singleton these last three weeks encourages this silver lining mentality.

It could work out that way if Wright and Singleton retain the niche they have carved for themselves. But again, their improvement only takes this team so far.

"Our guys have done a really terrific job filling in," Carlisle said. "We've been able to continue to stay afloat here and win games. They deserve credit.

"But a player like that [Terry], he's very hard to replace."

Need a reminder? The five teams the Mavericks beat while Terry was out all had losing records. The three teams they lost to had winning records.

The Mavericks wouldn't have won in San Antonio last week with Terry.

But what about that game against Boston before the All-Star break? The Mavericks carried a 75-69 lead into the final period and lost because they scored only 17 points and went more than five minutes without a basket.

What about the 93-86 loss in Houston when Dirk Nowitzki was off and Brandon Bass and JJ Barea scored all but three of the team's fourth-quarter points?

Terry is the Mavericks closer. He averages 6.3 points in the fourth quarter. The pick-and-roll with him and Nowitzki is the team's primary offense in the final minutes of a close game.

The Mavericks didn't need any fourth-quarter heroics in Sunday's win over Toronto. It's a good thing. Terry isn't ready to deliver just yet.

He finished with eight points and was 3-of-9 from the field. The Raptors outscored the Mavericks by 10 points when he was on the floor in the first half.

But since this was the first of five games in seven days, Terry will get the chance to play his way back into shape quickly.

"Adversity brings opportunity," Carlisle said of Terry's absence. "You've got to produce, and we have a lot of guys who have picked it up."

They did. But this team could only go so far without Terry.

Now it has a chance to go farther.

TORONTO 24 29 22 23 - 98

DALLAS 27 33 30 19 - 109

TORONTO Min FG

M-A FT

M-A Reb

O-T A PF PTS

Totals 240:00 34-91 27-29 15-45 16 22 98

Marion 5:55 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 0

Bosh 40:19 9-20 10-11 5-10 2 2 28

Bargnani 38:58 6-18 6-6 3-7 1 5 18

Parker 43:37 5-12 0-0 1-9 7 3 13

Calderon 36:05 4-12 5-5 0-3 3 3 13

Graham 20:06 5-10 4-4 4-7 0 4 14

Kapono 34:29 3-10 2-3 1-6 2 2 8

Ukic 11:55 1-4 0-0 0-1 1 1 2

Voskuhl 1:43 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Banks 6:53 1-3 0-0 0-1 0 0 2

Pct.: FG .374, FT .931.

3-point goals: 3-14, .214 (Parker 3-4, Banks 0-1, Kapono 0-1, Ukic 0-1, Calderon 0-3, Bargnani 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 6.

Team Turnover: 11 (13 PTS).

Blocks: 4 (Bargnani 4).

Turnovers: 10 (Ukic 3, Bargnani 2, Bosh 2, Calderon, Graham, Parker).

Steals: 4 (Bargnani 2, Bosh, Parker).

Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 0:32 first

DALLAS Min FG

M-A FT

M-A Reb

O-T A PF PTS

Totals 240:00 41-93 20-24 20-57 28 23 109

Howard 28:10 8-14 0-1 1-4 0 2 16

Nowitzki 34:15 8-19 7-7 0-10 5 5 24

Dampier 7:07 2-4 0-0 3-5 0 3 4

Wright 31:27 5-13 3-4 1-5 4 1 15

Kidd 34:23 3-7 2-2 1-6 15 2 9

Singleton 33:01 4-8 4-4 8-16 0 4 12

Terry 18:37 3-9 0-0 0-1 1 2 8

Bass 18:13 4-6 2-3 2-5 1 3 10

Barea 20:04 2-7 0-0 0-1 2 1 5

Hollins 3:24 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

George 11:19 2-6 2-3 4-4 0 0 6

Pct.: FG .441, FT .833.

3-point goals: 7-23, .304 (Terry 2-5, Wright 2-5, Nowitzki 1-1, Kidd 1-2, Barea 1-3, Singleton 0-1, George 0-2, Howard 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 7.

Team Turnover: 15 (15 PTS).

Blocks: 3 (Dampier, Kidd, Nowitzki).

Turnovers: 14 (Bass 3, Howard 3, Nowitzki 3, Barea, Kidd, Singleton, Terry, Wright).

Steals: 5 (Barea, George, Nowitzki, Singleton, Terry).

Technical Fouls: Singleton, 5:36 second

A: 19,688 (19,200). T: 2:15.

Officials: Dick Bavetta, Phil Robinson, Ed Malloy.