Preview: Suns (6-9) at Mavericks (10-7)

Earl K. Sneed previews the Dallas Mavericks' home matchup against the Phoenix Suns Monday night. The defending champs will look for a third straight win and try to extend their home winning streak to seven in the second of at least four games without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki.

DALLAS — No Dirk Nowitzki. No Vince Carter. No problem.

Already playing without eight-time All-Star Vince Carter for an unknown amount of time due to a sprained left foot suffered last Monday in a 73-70 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks learned that not only can they win without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki but they can do so in a hostile environment.

Learning just before the opening tipoff against the New Orleans Hornets that they would be without the services of the 10-time All-Star forward and Finals MVP while he takes at least four games to condition and strengthen a sore right knee, the Mavericks (10-7) scratched and clawed their way to an 83-81 victory to conclude a four-game road trip. The win ended an 11-game road losing streak to the Hornets and set a franchise record after holding a 14th straight opponent under 100 points.

And after bouncing back from consecutive last-second losses in L.A. to finish the trip at 2-2 following wins in Utah and New Orleans, the Mavericks return to the friendly confines of the American Airlines Center to begin a four-game homestand again without the two superstars in the lineup against the Phoenix Suns.

“Look, we’re down a couple of key guys. We’re down Nowitzki, we’re down Vince Carter. Those are two guys that have been great players in this league,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle explained. “So, we’re gonna have to pick it up collectively, and it’s gonna come down to how we compete. … It doesn’t fall on just one guy. Everyone’s gonna have to do their job and do it well. We’re gonna have to get it from everywhere.”

“We’ve gone through this last year when we lost him [Nowitzki] for nine games,” point guard Jason Kidd added. “We feel like we have a lot of talent here, and we feel like our depth is one of our keys. Everybody just has to step up.”

The last time the Mavericks saw the Suns (6-9) — who enter the night winners of back-to-back games — on Jan. 4 it took everything the defending champions had to hold off the visiting squad for a 98-89 home victory while celebrating Nowitzki’s 1,000th career game. Monday night, the Mavs will try to make it easier on themselves while looking for the same all-around team effort after using 52 points and 23 rebounds from their bench to get the win the first go-round.

The Mavs will also continue to rely on four-time All-Star Shawn Marion, who followed up a season-high 22 points in a 94-91 win in Utah Thursday night with 14 points and a season-best 12 rebounds against the Hornets.

“Right now, Shawn’s our best player. He and JET [Jason Terry] are gonna be our two main guys and then we’re gonna have to get even contributions from a lot of other guys. He’s been in this position before, he knows what it’s about, he likes the responsibility and he came up big for us in two big areas — scoring and rebounding,” Carlisle said after the win in New Orleans.

New addition Lamar Odom should also lend Marion and Terry a helping hand after his season-high 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting in place of Nowitzki at the starting power forward spot. With Terry struggling to a 3-for-16 shooting night, the ball swung Marion’s and Odom’s way down the stretch and the two versatile forwards carried their team to a win. Two nights later, Terry will try to bounce back against the Suns after producing 18 points on 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the first meeting.

According to Terry, even without the instant offense of the ex-Sun, Carter, the Mavericks still have the most talented collection of reserves that the league has to offer. Monday night, the Mavericks may need the former Sixth Man of the Year and his fellow reserves to play even bigger roles with both Nowitzki and Carter on the mend.

“Well, the second unit’s goal is to come in and impact the game on both ends of the floor, and it’s not just good enough to go out and play,” Terry said. “We want to dominate every time we step out on the floor. … Anybody we face we should have the upper hand.”

The Dallas team will try to gain the upper hand against ex-Mav Steve Nash, who finished with 15 points and 12 assists despite battling a nagging thigh injury in the first meeting. The Suns also received a monster night inside from center Marcin Gortat, who tallied up a double-double as well with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

But it’s the Mavericks that enter the game on a six-game home winning streak after dropping their first two games in Big D. And with the Suns more than capable of upstaging the champs on their home floor just a game before they are honored with a championship ring ceremony Wednesday night versus Minnesota, the Mavs will certainly not be taking the visiting squad lightly if they want to establish some home-court dominance.

“The opponents are gonna keep coming,” Carlisle simply said. “And when they introduce you as world champs, they’re coming at you hard.”

Note: The Suns-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.