Preview: Mavericks (13-8) at Suns (7-12)

Earl K. Sneed previews the Dallas Mavericks' road matchup with the Phoenix Suns Monday night as the defending champs play on without injured point guard Jason Kidd.

PHOENIX — They were pushed to the brink of defeat Sunday by the San Antonio Spurs before escaping their home floor with a 101-100 overtime win. Now, the Dallas Mavericks venture back out on the road, taking their Southwest Division lead into Phoenix to square off with a Suns squad the defending NBA champions have already beaten twice this season at home.

Pushed for 53 minutes after losing an 18-point lead and battling back from nine down in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks (13-8) eventually finished off the Spurs and their second unit, which played the game’s entire fourth quarter and extra period. The Mavs now head into the U.S. Airways Center a confident bunch after two victories over former point guard Steve Nash and the Suns (7-12) earlier in the month of January.

Following up a 98-89 home victory over the Suns on Jan. 4 with last Monday’s 93-87 win at the American Airlines Center, the Mavs will try to continue that trend. But if they are to stay on track it will be without the services of point guard Jason Kidd, who is expected to be out at least a week and likely longer due to a strained right calf suffered after playing just over two minutes in Friday night’s 116-101 win over Utah.

“We’ll rehab the calf and we’ll see where we stand in a week,” Kidd said Sunday. “It’s always tough to watch, but it’s also good that my teammates are playing well. We’ve got a pretty good record without me and Dirk [Nowitzki] in the lineup, so again we’re holding the guys back.”

Fortunately for the Mavs, while Kidd began to sit Nowitzki, the team’s leading scorer, and guard Delonte West returned to the lineup Sunday just in time to help hold off the Spurs.

Nowitzki had sat out the previous four games while reconditioning a sore right knee while West had missed a game due to a strained right hamstring, playing limited minutes against the Spurs. In his first game action since returning, Nowitzki tallied a double-double with 10 points on 5-of-14 from the field to go along with 13 rebounds.

“It’s definitely good to get the win,” Nowitzki said, “but I think when someone comes back from a break you look to see how he’s moving, and so definitely, that was an improvement. But I’m gonna keep working and I should be back to normal soon. Thirteen rebounds, that was two weeks worth, so that was definitely a good sign. No, but I feel like I have a little more lift than I did a week ago, even on my jumper.”

“He moved good in the second half,” star reserve Jason Terry said of Nowitzki’s return. “I thought he started to get into a rhythm. He had some good looks that he would have liked to have knocked down, but that’s gonna come. So, he looked alright. The best thing about it is he has another game [Monday] to really test his self and see where he’s at.”

Like Kidd, however, Nash is battling his own injury after limping off the court in the finals seconds of an 86-84 win over Memphis Saturday. Despite scoring a team-high 21 points and helping his team snap a three-game losing streak, Nash continues to nurse a bruised left thigh after colliding with Memphis big man Marc Gasol. Still, the two-time MVP is optimistic that he’ll be able to play when the Mavs try to extend their seven-game win streak over the Suns.

Meanwhile, it was Terry that carried the Mavs’ offensive attack Sunday against the Spurs, scoring a season-high 34 points — the best scoring performance by any reserve in the league this season — including a jumper with .5 ticks remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. One night later, both Terry and his coach hope that the sharpshooter can remain locked in as the Mavs continue to climb up the Western Conference standings.

“I was locked in. You know, the first time we played San Antonio I was disappointed. I watched the film and there were some shots that I know that I make. And I said if I continue to get those same looks and opportunities I would be aggressive and take them and they gave me the same looks,” Terry said of his performance.

“Terry was great,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “The shot at the end of regulation, we were in transition, had a timeout and decided not to take it. And he hit a terrific shot.”

The Mavs also hope their role players continue to step up with Kidd on the mend and Nowitzki battling back to 100 percent.

Sunday, the Mavs got a season-high 21 points from newcomer Vince Carter on 8-of-15 shooting. Kidd’s replacement, Rodrigue Beaubois, also scored 14 points and dished out seven assists in place of the future Hall of Famer after a season-high 22 points, seven assists and career-best three blocked shots in the win over Utah. Monday night, with Carter facing his former team and Beaubois potentially matching up with Nash, the Mavericks will again need big games from the duo that started in the backcourt in the last game. Only this time around, the Mavs would prefer not to give up a double-digit lead before finding themselves in an uphill climb.

“Through blowing an 18-point lead, we were able to get back in the game down nine and pull out a victory. I think that says a lot about our team,” Carter concluded.

Note: The Mavericks return to action on the second night of a back-to-back in Phoenix Monday night. Dallas leads the season series 2-0 after two wins at home. The Mavericks-Suns game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 p.m. CT.

Dallas returns home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. The two teams are tied at 1-1 in the season series with both winning at home. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on ESPN at 7 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.