Losses not the end of Mavericks' playoff push but every game is vital now

The Mavericks got a vintage Dirk Nowitzki performance, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.

But after rallying from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit and reaping Nowitzki’s heroics, the Mavericks suffered heartbreak - a C.J. McCollum 16-footer with .3 left that gave Portland a 114-113 victory Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

The fourth quarter featured 12 lead changes, including 10 in the final 4:15 and mind-boggling eight in the last 1:46. But as entertaining as this finish was, the result was no less crippling to the Mavericks.

One week after riding the euphoria of wins over San Antonio and Cleveland on back-to-back days, the Mavericks suffered a deflating 24 hours, with losses to Denver and Portland, which are eighth and ninth in the Western Conference standings.

Nowitzki wasn’t in much of a mood to hear about the thrilling fourth quarter, during which he scored 11 of his 25 points.

“I guess,” he said. “But when you lose to Denver and Portland, both teams that are right there, that we’ve got to beat to get in front of, the loss obviously now is tougher. . . . A very, very obviously disappointing loss, but it was definitely a fun game.”

There is no such thing as a must-win NBA game in early February, but for the Mavericks Tuesday night was as close as it gets.

They began this week with a four-game winning streak amid YogiMania, the momentum created by new guard Yogi Ferrell. Having painstakingly climbed from 15th in the West to 10th, the Mavericks hoped to use the Denver and Portland games as a springboard into playoff contention.

Instead, Dallas lost to Denver by 23 points and, Tuesday, this heartbreaker.

“You are never going to be involved in a better regular-season game, that’s for sure,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “It was just a great game all-around. I’m disappointed for our guys. They made one more play than we did.”

After Nowitzki’s go-ahead 3 from the left wing, his second 3-pointer in the game’s final 38 seconds, the Blazers called timeout. Portland inbounded to McCollum, who split Wesley Matthews and Harrison Barnes, stumbled near the top of the key and hit a running floater just inside the free-throw line.

“I know that Wes in late-game situations likes to press up on guys,” McCollum said. “Once I caught it, I knew I was going to attack right away.

“I got there and knew it was a shot I was comfortable with, so I had a good feeling it would go in.”

The losses to Denver and Portland were not a death blow to the Mavericks’ playoff chances, but certainly crippled them.

With 30 games left, the Mavericks (20-32) trail the Nuggets by four games and the Blazers by two. And now Dallas has fallen into a 10th-place tie with Sacramento and New Orleans.

"All of our games are important right now if we have any inkling of making the playoffs,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. “Because it's not just about making it. It's about being good enough to be there."

On Tuesday, just four days after winning at Portland, the Mavericks showed they were more than good enough to compete against a rested Blazers team.

But in the end, this was a lost opportunity. Tuesday night began a four-game homestand, and a stretch in which Dallas will play 11 of 16 at home.

Any Mavericks playoff push almost certainly will have to come during this extended stretch of home games. Because over the season’s final 17 games, they will play 11 times on the road, including seven of the last nine.

First, though, they will have to find a way to put these 24 hours behind them. Next up is a Thursday home game against Utah.

“Play like our lives depend on it,” Matthews said, when asked how the Mavericks hope to rebound. “That’s what we’ve been doing. We let two important wins get away from us, but we’re still right there.”

Twitter: @townbrad