Survival mode is never easy.
But that’s where the Mavericks are.
They have fallen two games under .500 for the first time this season at 15-17. They have four more road games ahead of them before they return home on Jan. 3.
They started this trip with a hard-fought 120-116 loss at Utah on Christmas. They head to Portland on Monday night (9 p.m. tipoff) and the cupboard again will be relatively bare for coach Jason Kidd, who wakes up every morning wondering who he will have on his roster that can play that evening.