Call it adding injury to insult.

No. 5 and the Mavericks were dealt a series blow Sunday, falling to the San Antonio Spurs, 88-81, and in the process, losing Dirk Nowitzki as well.

The Show just missed a double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists, but made his greatest impact on defense, helping to hold the talented Spurs trio of Parker, Finley and Ginobli to 10-43 shooting on the night.

DEALING WITHOUT DIRK
With 3:18 left to play in the third quarter, Nowitzki blocked Ime Udoka’s layup, but Udoka landed on the back of Nowitzki’s left leg, twisting Dirk's knee and ankle awkwardly. Though x- rays came back negative, the Mavs have said Nowitzki will be out a minimum of two weeks.

“This is a challenging period for us, but there is no surrender, there is no withdrawal, there is no backing up,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to meet it head-on. It definitely is a challenge. I feel we’re up for it. But we’re going to have to look at some things, especially offensively, to get that ball to the basket and get the ball in the basket.”

NO. 5 AS NO. 1
With the loss of Dirk Nowitzki, the Show will look to pick up more of the offensive slack in the coming games. Since Josh’s rookie season in 2003, he has only played 14 games without the seven-foot Dirk by his side. In those games, No. 5 has averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists. When Dirk was suspended March 6 against Houston, Josh went for 21 points to lead the Mavericks.

“The whole team is going to have to step up,” Josh Howard said. “That’s our leader, that’s our go-to guy. And with him being out, it’s going to have to be a team effort now.”

BIG D, LITTLE O
No. 5 and the Mavs just finished a grueling three-game home stand against perhaps the three top title contenders in the NBA. The defense has been outstanding as they held the Boston Celtics to 34.5 percent shooting Thursday and San Antonio to 33 percent Sunday, but the offense has not followed. The Mavericks have averaged 90.3 points in home losses to the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs. The visitors have combined to shoot 36.3 percent (97-of-267).

WEEK IN REVIEW
The Show has elevated his game this past week, averaging 18.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, while playing shut down defense on the games top stars. Despite his best efforts, Dallas went 0-3 on their home stand.

03.19.2008 | Almost a Comeback
03.21.2008 | Show and Co. Come Up Short

NEXT UP
On Tuesday at 5:30pm PST, No.5 and the Mavs (44-26) welcome the Los Angeles Clippers (21-48) to the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

After the Clippers, the Mavs go to Denver and Golden State, the two teams on their heels.

RELATED STORIES
Mavericks Team Report, (Yahoo! Sports, Mar. 24, 2008)
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Avs_3BnyPJb82YLO68zwdiB60bYF?slug=...
Home losses show Dallas Mavericks’ flaws, (DallasNews.com, Mar. 24, 2008)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/...
Offense letting down Dallas Mavericks’ strong defense, (DallasNews.com, Mar.24, 2008)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/...
Losing Dirk really hurts, (Star-Telegram, Mar.24, 2008)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/543963.html
Mavs- Spurs Box Score, (NBA.com, Mar.23, 2008)
http://www.nba.com/games/20080323/SASDAL/boxscore.html

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