Over the last four weeks, Dallas has caught fire, sandwiching five-game winning streaks around consecutive losses just after Christmas. The 10-2 stretch has propelled the 24-11 Mavericks ahead of 23-11 San Antonio in the Southwest Division, and Dallas is now just a half-game back of the 25-11 West-leading Phoenix Suns. With no Western Conference team separating itself from the pack of contenders, the Mavericks are in great shape to claim the top seed in the West playoffs for the second straight year.

The question is, is that such a big deal? It wasn't for the Mavericks last year, when their 67-win regular season that earned forward Dirk Nowitzki MVP honors evaporated in the face of a tough test from the Golden State Warriors. The eighth-seeded Warriors entered the playoffs on a roll, presented a matchup challenge to Dallas because of their unconventional style, fed off a raucous home crowd at the Oracle Arena and had former Mavericks Head Coach Don Nelson calling the shots on the sideline. Dallas went down in six games, becoming only the third No. 1 seed to fall in the first-round since the NBA went to its current playoff format.

In the wake of that loss, regular-season performance might not be quite as important to the Mavericks. When they went to the NBA Finals in 2006, they did it as the fourth seed, winning Game 7 against San Antonio on the road.

"Last year, we were 50-9 at one point," Dallas owner Mark Cuban told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "That didn’t create any more or less pressure. That just meant that teams went for us a little bit more, but that also wears you out a little bit."

While their regular-season win-loss record may not be of the utmost importance, the Mavericks still want to establish a winning formula and be ready to compete in the postseason. That's the level Dallas has reached over the last four weeks. The Mavericks have been winning by an average of 8.7 points per game against competition that has been difficult at times. Dallas beat New Orleans and Phoenix late in December, drubbed the Warriors by 22 points in a rematch of last spring's series and on Wednesday won a nationally-televised showdown with the Detroit Pistons by 16 points.

The difference for the Mavericks over the last 12 games has been defense. Over the first month and a half of the season, Dallas lived up to the no-defense reputation that, fairly or not, plagued the team before 2006's run upset postseason win over the Spurs and subsequent trip to the NBA Finals. Going into Dec. 14, the Mavericks were allowing 110.0 points per 100 possessions, a Defensive Rating that put them amongst the weakest defenses in the NBA. Since then, the defense has shined. Dallas has allowed 100 points just twice in the last 15 games, and during the winning streak the team's Defensive Rating is a microscopic 103.1 - which would be good for third in the NBA over the course of the season.

Mavericks Head Coach Avery Johnson hasn't made dramatic personnel changes during the stretch, with the biggest change being a tightening of the rotation. Only eight players have played 15 minutes a night over the last four weeks.

The major rotation change has been Erick Dampier establishing himself as the guy at center. Dampier averaged 17.9 minutes early in the season, but has played 28.1 a night over the last 12 games and is shooting an unconscious 77.8% from the field during that span. (He's also made his last 14 shots, a new franchise record.) Point guard Devin Harris has also been hot, averaging 15.8 points and 5.0 assists per game. Harris has been more dangerous by finding three-point range, hitting 52.0% of his triple attempts over the last 12 games after making just 22.6% prior to mid-December.

It would be hard to describe Nowitzki as on a "hot streak" given his high established level of play, but he has picked it up lately after a "slow start" that was largely due to fluky poor three-point shooting (29.5% through mid-December, down from 41.6% last season). Over the last 12 games, Nowitzki's performance has been similar to the numbers he posted during his MVP campaign. Nowitzki is unlikely to bring home the hardware again, but surely he will trade it for a longer trip to the postseason.

The Seattle SuperSonics return home to host a game for the first time in 2008. After a tough East Coast road trip, KeyArena will be a friendly sight. The Sonics went 4-4 at home during the month of December. Forward Chris Wilcox, who has only played briefly since Dec. 29, could also make his return to the lineup. The Mavericks have been a tough opponent for the Sonics lately, winning the last 10 head-to-head matchups between the teams dating back to the 2004-05 season.

KEY MATCHUP
	Dallas forward Josh Howard continues to develop into a key cog for the Mavericks. Last year saw Howard make the All-Star team for the first time in his career. This season, he is averaging career highs in points (20.8), rebounds (7.4) and assists (2.2). Howard has emerged as something of a co-go-to player for Dallas along with Nowitzki. Sonics rookie Jeff Green was hot early in his run as a starter at small forward, but has struggled the last three games. He'll look to feed off the energy of KeyArena in tonight's game.

In the season finale for both teams, the Mavericks put the finishing touches on a 67-win regular season by defeating the Sonics 106-75 at KeyArena last April 18. The Sonics trailed 33-16 after one quarter and finished with their second-lowest point total of the season, with young players seeing extensive action. Andre Brown scored a career-high 12 points for the Sonics, and fellow rookie Mouhamed Sene grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Nowitzki led Dallas by scoring 20 points.

Kia Surprising Stat

INJURIES

Sonics - Guard Luke Ridnour (tightness, left quad) and forward Chris Wilcox (sprained left knee) are game-time decisions. Center Robert Swift (tendinitis and contusion, right knee) is out.

Dallas - None.

For more analysis before tonight's game, listen to the Sonics Pregame Show starting at 7:00 on KTTH 770 AM.