The Mavericks have a problem.
After falling to the Pacers 112-105 at home Saturday, Dallas has now lost five games in a row and is facing arguably its toughest six-game stretch of the season in the next two weeks.
“We have to keep plugging and keep fighting,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “I don’t think we have any quitters in this locker room. Coach is not going to allow that and obviously that’s not what Mark (Cuban) stands for. We just need to leave it all out there and see if we can’t get a big roll going.”
The Mavericks next six games are all against teams that are likely going to be in the playoffs, including two games against the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors, and another against the Eastern Conference’s top team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I’m not making excuses,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday. “We’re in a real situation here where we’ve got to bring it up. And I’ve got to look at everything.”
Now sitting in the 8-seed spot in the Western Conference standings, the Mavericks have a 2.5-game lead over the first team out of the playoffs, ninth-seeded Utah.
