Jan Hubbard 
Avoiding the Lakers was Mavericks' top priority in beating Hornets
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS -- As far as anyone can tell, it's only a rumor that the Mavericks have signed John Mellencamp to write a sequel to his overplayed, irritating ditty This Is Our Country.
The tune would be the same, but the working title would be: The Regular Season Don't Matter.
The players have overplayed that theme all season, but they came very close Wednesday to finding out how faulty that thinking is.
For most of three periods, they were outplayed by the New Orleans Hornets, who demonstrated the difference between a team that competed for the top seed in the conference and a team that barely made the playoffs.
The Hornets were superior. It wasn't even close.
A loss would have been disastrous for the Mavericks. It would have meant that Dallas would have to open the playoffs against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in Los Angeles, and anyone who thinks they might win that series either works for the team, or owns it.
But the Mavericks apparently got a late memo that testing a team that is making the playoffs for the first time in four years is more desirable than a series against the best player on the planet.
The Mavericks found life with a 22-6 run in the last 4:36 of the third quarter that turned an 11-point deficit into a five-point lead.
The teams traded runs in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks took control down the stretch -- particularly Jason Kidd, who had the 100th triple double of his career with 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds -- and went on to a 111-98 victory at American Airlines Center.
It might have only been a regular-season game, but it was evident the two teams were testing each other in preparation for the start of the playoffs. Coach Avery Johnson was asked if the Mavericks had sent a message with the victory and said: "I don't know if we sent a message."
And then he immediately sent a message.
"Everybody was out there trying to win the game and all of their guys played their normal minutes," Johnson said. "They went for it because nobody played like they've been playing all year. [Peja] Stojakovic 38 minutes; West 40 minutes; [Chris] Paul would have played more than 34 minutes had he not gotten in foul trouble."
Message: We're better.
The Hornets sent their message to Dirk Nowitzki, defending him with the tandem of West and 7-foot-1 Tyson Chandler, who is an agile, athletic center whose height can present problems for Nowitzki when the two are matched up.
Nowitzki had only 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting. That made Kidd's offense vital.
"They were trying to make him [Kidd] score," Johnson said. "I don't think Dirk saw single coverage one time."
Jason Terry contributed 30 points and Josh Howard had 19, so the Mavericks survived Nowitzki's rare off-night.
Nowitzki will play better, no matter how good the defense plays. The Mavericks are certain of that. And Kidd is playoff-tested, a veteran of two NBA Finals.
To defeat the Hornets, however, the Mavericks need a third player to be consistent on offense, Howard or Terry. If one or both have a great series, then a Mavericks victory is a possibility and let's be honest about this:
It would be an upset. There is a reason the Hornets are the second seed and the Mavericks are the seventh.
There is little doubt, however, that playing the Hornets is preferable to playing the Lakers. Three years ago, the Hornets were 18-64. They have done a wonderful job building their team, but they are young and inexperienced. They can be beat easier than the Lakers. And even they understand that.
"They came out with a lot to prove," Paul said of the Mavericks. "It was either play against us, or play the Lakers. We knew we had the second seed solidified. We played hard. We definitely wanted to win, but we still understand we got the two-seed and it starts in New Orleans."
It starts in New Orleans because the Mavericks took care of business. If they are able to win their first-round series, they'll look back on the last regular-season game as one that was pretty important.
jhubbard@star-telegram.com
