Preview: Jazz (10-6) at Mavericks (11-8)

Earl K. Sneed previews the Dallas Mavericks' home matchup Friday night against former point guard Devin Harris, Josh Howard and the Utah Jazz.

DALLAS — After having their three-game win streak and seven-game home victorious stretch snapped, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks return to the American Airlines Center court looking to get back on track Friday night.

Much like Christmas Day when the Miami Heat spoiled the Mavericks’ championship banner ceremony with a 105-94 defeat, the champs left the court disappointed yet again Wednesday night after having their ring ceremony ruined by a 105-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reigning titleholders will try to get back in the win column Friday night with former point guard Devin Harris and Josh Howard in town with a Utah Jazz team that has dropped five straight to the Mavs.

“I think we’re all happy that we don’t have anymore ceremonies for our championship,” point guard Jason Kidd said. “We can just concentrate on basketball.”

“[The loss to Minnesota] is an embarrassing loss right now,” forward Shawn Marion added after the Mavs’ sub-par performance. “We’ve all got to sit and look at ourselves. We should be [angry]. We shouldn’t have lost this game. This is a game we should have come out and won regardless of the ceremony. … Everything lacked on both sides of the floor. We can make all of the excuses we want, but we should have won this game.”

While continuing to play without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki (sore right knee) and eight-time All-Star Vince Carter (sprained left foot), the Mavericks (11-8) struggled at both ends of the floor against the Wolves when surrendering an 8-0 run to close the first half before eventually losing the lead all together in the third period after being up 14 earlier in the second quarter. While Friday night’s contest against the Jazz (10-6) figures to be Nowitzki’s fourth and last game to sit out after concentrating on his conditioning, Carter’s status remains up in the air after the swingman returned to practice Thursday.

Carter is expected to go through the Mavericks’ Friday morning shootaround to see if he’s set to return after missing five games.

“The last two days have just been better, because I didn’t think I’d do as much work on the court [Wednesday]. And I got out here and I felt great,” Carter said on his 35th birthday Thursday. “[Head athletic trainer Casey Smith] allowed me to do a little bit … and we’ll see what happens from there. I put a lot of work in, just doing whatever I have to do to get back on the floor. And I’m starting to feel a lot better from it.”

Meanwhile, the Mavericks will not only try to replicate their 94-91 road win over the Jazz on Jan. 19, they’ll also try to recapture the magic that produced the big lead on Minnesota before everything fell apart. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle will also look for the defensive intensity the team displayed before the loss to the Wolves, when the Dallas defense held a franchise-record 15 straight opponents under 100 points.

“We didn’t deserve to win. And frankly, after that period at the end of the second quarter, we really didn’t compete. … We were inconsistent. We never got anything really consistent going after we got the 14-point lead,” Carlisle acknowledged. “Give them credit for continuing to attack and be aggressive and stay with it. We failed to answer that in the first half. It didn’t get better from there.”

He added: “On nights when you don’t compete as well as you need to, you’ve gotta bounce back. So, that’s what we need to do.”

The Mavs will try to bounce back Friday night after holding Harris to a career-worst 0-for-7 shooting and just one point in Utah earlier in the month while Howard sat out with a quadriceps injury. Howard returned from the injury Wednesday night, but the former All-Star went scoreless in 16 minutes on 0-for-6 shooting in a 111-106 home loss to Toronto.

Both the Mavs and Jazz are 7-3 in their last 10 games, but the Utah squad has benefited from 11 early home games while going just 2-3 away from Salt Lake City. That sits just fine with the Mavericks as they try to treat the visitors to some southern hospitality while also bidding to improve upon a 7-3 home record.

“We’re gonna be ready,” reserve guard Jason Terry said. “I mean, we’re gonna be fired up. Playing against some old friends in Josh and Devin, that will be fun. But again, this team needs a win.”

The Mavericks return to action in the third matchup of a four-game homestand Friday night when they host the Utah Jazz. The Mavs lead the season series 1-0 after a 94-91 road win on Jan. 19. The Jazz-Mavericks game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.