Dallas Mavericks Fail Biggest Test of the Season and Show True Colors

This was an audition for the chance to be something more than a first-round doormat.

This was an opportunity to prove that a tight win over the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs the night before was not an aberration.

Thursday night was a statement game.

The Dallas Mavericks blew it, big time.

They did not have to win, but they had to keep it close and display the kind of heart and grit they lacked in an awful loss to the Kevin Durant and Jeff Green-less Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night. In an e-mail to Dallas sports writers, Mark Cuban promised to gut the team and ship everyone out if the lethargy continued.

Nothing the Mavs did in a putrid second half should convince Cuban to renege his criticisms. Big-time performance on the road against a solid playoff team ahead in the standings? Fat chance. The New Orleans Hornets big timed the Mavs 104-88.

This win proved, unsurprisingly, what I already knew about this jumpshooting bunch. The team offered its ostentatious owner false hope in a mirage win and then wasted it by falling into a daze when Chris Paul awoke.

Paul completed three lobs, two to Tyson Chandler and one to Julian Wright, in the third quarter and notched 12 points and seven assists. The Mavs became stupefied spectators.

Maybe they wanted to see what a real MVP looked like.

For teams in the title hunt, a loss in New Orleans on the second night of a back-to-back, even one by double digits, might be acceptable, especially if the loss followed a tough win against another title team.

What the Mavericks must understand is this: Only players with rings and teams with championship banners get that benefit.

No one said the NBA was fair. That has not kept the Spurs or Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'Neal from competing in the NBA Finals multiple times this decade.

Dallas is fighting the idea that its two special seasons were just that. Special seasons, average team. The Mavs are losing the battle.

Paul burned the defenseless Mavs for 27 points and 15 assists. The Hornets whipped the Mavs in the paint 52 to 24.

Rick Carlisle tried a lowly zone defense in the first half, and though it was marginally effective in deterring Paul from attacking the rim, it was quickly and thoroughly exploited in the third quarter.

One highlight reel play summed up the game for the Mavs. Chris Paul rebounded a missed Jason Kidd three, ran the length of the court, threw the ball between Jason Terry's legs, and found Wright for an easy slam.

Josh Howard sat out the second half due to pain in his bad ankle. He scored 27 points Wednesday night, but was too listless in the first half Thursday for anyone to know if his presence would have made a difference.

The Hornets shot at a 56 percent clip and scored 59 points in the second 24 minutes. The Mavericks clanged 61 percent of their attempts and played like a squad willing to use its fatigue as an excuse.

The Mavs had evened the score at 45 by the end of the second quarter. The objective of this test, however, was not to tie it up at halftime.

Dallas needed to fight New Orleans to the finish. It crouched and whimpered like a scared puppy.

If you find this assessment too harsh, maybe you missed the disgusted look on Cuban's face when the Hornets increased the lead to 20.

He has seen this before. He saw it from afar Monday night when the woeful Thunder clapped its way to a similar 20-point lead. The resulting 96-87 loss irked Cuban so much that he publicly called out his team for the disastrous performance.

Given the 16-point loss in New Orleans, what should the owner make of the win against the Spurs? Not much.

Josh Howard pump faked Tim Duncan on Wednesday night and drove to the hoop for an easy layup late in the game. Kidd nailed the dagger, his third trey of the evening. Even Nowitzki hit some clutch fourth-quarter buckets.

After the pitiful display in the Big Easy, it is hard to take that win seriously. You want me to be impressed by the Mavs beating the Spurs with mostly jumpshots and no Manu Ginobili? Fat chance.

The Mavs' 93-76 loss to the Spurs last week, with Ginobili and Duncan out, meant a lot more. Cuban should not have needed any more games to see the make up of his team.

The specific ingredients: A penchant for getting bullied on the road, all jumpshooters,  no post presence, an inconsistent heart, and choke artistry.

The best scenario for this Dallas team is a miracle run to the fifth or sixth seed, which given the spotty performances of late, seems unlikely. This team is fish food if it has to play the Los Angeles Lakers or Spurs in the first round.

Cuban will have the chance this offseason to do what he should have done last summer.

Carlisle called three useless timeouts in the third quarter to stop the Hornets bubbling momentum. They were useless because his team is not good or tough enough to withstand runs on the road from elite players or their squads.

The Mavs clearly lack the personnel to score enough points and bang through four playoff rounds.

Beating the Ginobili-less Spurs at the American Airlines Center was the room-temperature appetizer. The Mavericks delivered a raw, poisonous main course in New Orleans.

This loss does not render the Mavs useless.

The Lakers will need a place to wipe their feet in the playoffs before the real competition starts.