Game preview: New Orleans Hornets (13-10) at Dallas Mavericks (17-7)

by Earl K. Sneed of Dallas Mavericks

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The Mavericks hope to avoid the same fate as the last time they met the Hornets.

The memory of some losses don't fade away easily.

Despite entering Monday night's meeting against the New Hornets riding a three-game winning streak, the Dallas Mavericks have their minds on the events of Nov. 4. That night the Mavs lost 114-107 in overtime to the Hornets, after having a chance to seal the game at the free throw line. Consecutive empty trips for Dallas at the charity strip in the final 15 seconds of regulation, followed by a game-tying 3-pointer from the Hornets' Peja Stojakovic, was just a prelude to Chris Paul's game-high 39 points to lead New Orleans to claim the win in the extra period on its home floor.

The Southwest Division-leading Mavericks have learned a lot about winning close ball games since that night, which could benefit them greatly with the Hornets entering Dallas on Monday.

"We're doing some good things down the stretch to be able to win close games," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "In an NBA season, you're going to have between 25 and 32 one-possession games over the course of 82, and how well you do in those goes a long way towards defining the success of your regular season."

In order to avoid another close game against the Hornets, Carlisle's top priority is limiting Paul's impact on the flow of the game. That is easier said then done, the coach admits.

"The plan is to try to keep (Paul) from going crazy. He's a great player. He's an MVP-caliber player. "It's a tough job to contain him and keep him out of the lane, on the one hand, and then try to take away his open shots but we want to make them a jump-shooting team as much as possible. And it's not easy because he gets places with the ball."

The game plan on Paul, who has historically torched the Mavs with his ability to get to the rim with ease and with his play-making ability to facilitate to others, is to make the top-tier point guard into a scorer first, preferably from the outside. Dallas is hopeful that Paul will fall into the trap of looking for his own shot, likely taking his ability to elevate his teammates out of the equation.

"Sometimes it's easier when one guy is really going because no one else is doing anything," forward Shawn Marion said. "So it really doesn't matter if he gets off and has a great night. Thing is, you have to contain him to stop him from getting everybody else involved. I think when he goes off for 30-plus and 15 assists, that's tough to beat."

The job of defending Paul will often fall to his point guard counterpart, Jason Kidd. Mostly guarding the top players in the league on a nightly basis, Kidd, often their senior, has made up for "young legs" by studying the opposing team's best players and their tendencies.

"In age, you have to use (veteran knowledge) to your advantage," Kidd said. "Knowledge is sometimes a little bit better than being quicker than your opponent. Just knowing tendencies and habits is something I'm living off of right now."

On offense, the Mavericks will continue to look towards their own MVP candidate, as Dirk Nowitzki has put forth a public service announcement by displaying a continuous highlight reel for his candidacy. Dallas' 98-97 overtime win on Saturday night over Charlotte was just the latest installment of the Nowitzki's "best of" collection, posting a game-high 36 points including the game-winner with 1.8 ticks left in the extra stanza. No. 41 seems to be on the right track towards claiming the award for a second time, stepping it up at both ends of the court.

"(Nowitzki) is playing great. I wasn't around when he won the MVP, but he's done everything his teammates have asked, and the coach. The biggest thing is not his offense but his defense. He's been great for us defensively all year," Kidd said.

Dallas goes for its fourth straight win on Monday night, in a divisional matchup against New Orleans at the American Airlines Center. The game will air locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD, and nationally on NBA TV at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

Earl is the beat reporter for the Dallas Mavericks, a new content partner for Pegasus News. We'll add their full partner badge and ID to stories once we have approved art in hand.

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