The Mavs, who play the Jazz tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, have won 14 of their past 16 games to reclaim their rightful place among the NBA's elite teams. Dallas, which reached its first NBA Finals last summer before falling to Miami, opened the season with consecutive losses to San Antonio (97-91), Houston (107-76), Golden State (114-107) and the L.A.
Clippers (113-85). "We weren't playing very good defense or offense," coach Avery Johnson said after Monday morning's shootaround. "That's a bad mixture.
" Preseason injuries prevented Johnson was establishing a regular rotation - even a starting lineup. That problem manifested itself mostly on defense. None of Dallas' first eight opponents scored fewer than 96 points.
After the rough start, however, the Mavs won 12 straight games to get back on a track that Johnson hopes will lead his team back to the Finals. "Our offense is functioning better," he said. "We've also had higher ratings on our defensive charts.
That's what we have to do" to be successful. Dallas comes off a 105-90 win over Denver on Saturday.
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