Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News | tarcher@dallasnews.com
Enjoy this. Savor the moment, because that’s what the 101-96 win against Los Angeles was Wednesday, a moment.
One of 82 moments during the grind of a long NBA season, but it was a good moment, all things considered: no Caron Butler because of a reaction to medication, no Erick Dampier because of a dislocated finger and finally a signature moment at American Airlines Center.
But in the locker room afterward, the mood was reserved.
“I don’t think anybody on this team is thinking, ‘Man, we beat the Lakers,’” center Brendan Haywood said. “We expect to win. We expect to win big games. But when we go back to work and practice, the focus is on Atlanta.”
Haywood has been around the Mavericks for a couple of weeks, and he understands this team’s motivation. This is not about beating the Lakers in February when the opponents are playing the second game of a back-to-back. (And that’s not excuse-making, by the way. Los Angeles was off the five days before that.)
Things are going so well for the Mavs that even Kobe Bryant could not come through in the clutch. A night after willing the Lakers to a win at Memphis with a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left, he could not tie the score with 25.9 seconds to play.
Trailing, 97-94 after a Shawn Marion miss, Bryant’s 25-footer from the left wing bounced high off the rim, and the loose ball went out off Pau Gasol.
Who knew Bryant was human, even on a 9-of-23 shooting night?
“I’m watching the [Lakers’ game Tuesday] and I’m thinking, ‘We’re going to have that situation and we’re going to have to nullify that,’” Jason Terry said. “And Shawn stayed on him, and he made it tough for him.”
After the game Rick Carlisle talked about what the win means for the team, how the defense continued to show up, how role players filled their roles and how stars Dirk Nowitzki (31 points), Terry (30 points) and Jason Kidd (14 points, 13 assists) did what they needed to do.
“Too much will be made of it probably,” Carlisle said of any significance from beating the Lakers. “We just have to continue to build on things and get better.”
And does the coach worry about any hangover from the win?
“We have veterans,” Carlisle said. “I just have to remind you guys”
Like any good comedian, Carlisle left on a high note (think George Costanza in Seinfeld) and walked off the podium and down the hall to the Mavericks’ offices Wednesday night.
The Mavs have won five in a row, their longest winning streak of the season.
The stench that was around this team before the All-Star break has been eliminated. It is easy to come to work these days. The Washington threesome of Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson, whose defense on Bryant early in the game was impressive, has infused some toughness to the team, while the guys that have been here for some time have lifted them out of the Wizards’ funk, too.
“We’ve got some great character, and we’ve got some guys with some character that can keep the locker room loose,” Kidd said. “The big thing for us is to just pay attention to the details if we want to do something right now.”
There are 24 games left on the schedule. The Mavs lead the Southwest Division. They are the currently the fourth seed in the Western Conference but just a game behind Denver for the No. 2 seed behind the Lakers.
Maybe it’s too early to scoreboard watch, but in this conference, things can change in a hurry because the margin for error is so slim. They are only 1.5 games ahead of No. 5 seed Phoenix.
“Can we beat a good team?” Terry said. “We beat some mediocre teams but this was a test and we passed it without Caron and without Damp. Now, can you handle success?”
We’re about to find out.
