It wasn’t so long ago when the Mavericks felt they saw a true glimpse of their team. The rotation was intact, the team was essentially healthy and the wins were piling up.

Some things don’t last.

Consecutive losses on the East Coast to a pair of teams with losing records exposed just how fragile the Mavs can be without a full deck. Offensive catalyst Devin Harris has been shelved since late January. Jerry Stackhouse, Erick Dampier and now Josh Howard have joined the ranks of the walking wounded.

The Mavs (34-17) have two games left before the All-Star break, including Wednesday night against Portland at American Airlines Center. The weeklong rest for everyone, save Dirk Nowitzki, couldn’t come at a better time.

But excuses, especially when it comes to injuries, aren’t part of the team culture. They may be a fact of NBA life, but the Mavs still suit up the reigning MVP and a supporting cast many consider deep.

“That’s something we visited about,” coach Avery Johnson said. “We don’t care who is in uniform. We have a high standard of excellence that we want to play to, how we want to play and what we want to do.

“We are clear on our system and try to make the necessary adjustments. Mentally and physically, we just haven’t been able to sustain throughout the whole game, and that’s what we need to do.”

New Jersey and Philadelphia exposed as much on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Despite holding double-digit leads in the second quarter of both games, the listless Mavs fell apart in the second half both nights.

The Nets outscored Dallas 55-42 in the second half of their 101-82 victory. The following night was even harder for Johnson to watch, as the 76ers held his team to a franchise-record low 23 points in the 84-76 final.

“The last two nights we had a lead and just didn’t come out in the second half and do anything,” Jason Terry said. “Tough stretch, but mentally we need to be a lot stronger than what we are showing right now, especially in the second half.”

And on the road. Four of the last five away from the sold-out frenzy of American Airlines Center have ended in defeat. Part of that stretch included a 90-67 shellacking at Detroit, the fewest overall points scored by the Mavs this season.

“That’s the big thing,” Howard said. “We need to win games on the road in the playoffs. We’re going to have to respond and turn it around.”

Getting consistent execution offensively has been a struggle without Harris, who’s in the midst of a career year. Johnson has turned the reins over to Terry and JJ Barea, and both have struggled.

Terry has scored more than 13 just twice in the seven games Harris has missed. Barea has been pressed into duty despite only being in his second season.

“When we’re focused and playing our style of basketball, we have a chance to win,” Johnson said. “When we’re not getting back on defense or rebounding and we’re not really having the type of consistency we want on both ends, we’re not that good.

“We’re playing with a pretty inexperienced point guard now that we’re trying to manage through these games, especially on the road.”

In the face of swirling trade rumors, the Mavs just want to get some momentum back before the break. After visiting Phoenix on Thursday, the next game is the following Wednesday at New Orleans.

“It’s disappointing, but our next game is Portland,” Terry said. “We go back home and it is very important that we win that game. That’s what’s next for us. We can’t worry about what we are going through right now. We just need to come out with emotion, a sense of urgency and get a win at home.”

Howard suffers back contusion

Josh Howard had an MRI on Tuesday and it confirmed a lower back contusion, leaving him questionable against Portland. Howard took a hard fall in the third quarter at Philadelphia and left for good in the fourth.

Help could be on the way with Erick Dampier (ankle) and Jerry Stackhouse (hamstring), who are both game-time decisions. Neither played against the Sixers. Devin Harris (ankle) continues to improve, but he won’t return until after the All-Star break.

Howard is averaging career-highs of 20.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 36.5 minutes in 48 games this season.