Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Rockets was an absolute must-have for the Dallas Mavericks. Coming in to the contest Dallas held a one-game lead in the standings over the ninth-place Rockets, but face a much tougher schedule down the stretch.
But with their 88-86 win in a game that came down to the final ticks, the Mavericks have given themselves a two-game cushion over their rivals with only four games left on the slate.
Dallas got another huge performance from J.J. Barea, and held their opponent to fewer than 90 points for the fifth straight game, allowing the team to escape with yet another victory in which Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t much of a factor offensively.