Dirk Returns! Mavs Still Get Blown Out, 129-91

The only thing positive the Mavericks can take out of this game is that Dirk Nowitzki is back. He is back in a limited fashion, but still back nonetheless. 20 minutes on the floor for Dirk resulted in 8 points and 6 rebounds. That return is not bad at all! That is really the only positive note I can take from this game. This article is kind of late because I was watching the "How Dirk Became DIRK!" documentary from Fox Sports Southwest, which was well put together. There isn't much you can really say on this game except the Mavs have not been very competitive lately. The Spurs were really hot tonight though from 3-point range. The Spurs as a whole had a 66.7% success rate beyond the arch with making 20 out of 30 shots! Five San Antonio Spurs players got into double digits in points. Danny Green had 25, Tony Parker had 18, Kawhi Leonard had 17, Tim Duncan had 15, and Stephen Jackson had 14 points coming off the bench. Mavericks will be off til Thursday night where they will end their mini road trip in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. I can see the Mavericks being competitive once Nowitzki gets back to 100 percent, but he still needs help on the court. With Dirk back; Derek Fisher is probably gone for the rest of the season. Fisher is reportedly wanting to be waived to go back home with his family. And with knee injury he will probably get his wish. This Mavericks team I am convinced is more than likely done for the season.

Saints Heartbreak the Cowboys 34-31 in Overtime

Just like every Cowboys game this year, it was full of drama. I thought the Cowboys fumbled the game away whenever DeMarco Murray fumbled the ball away at their own 5 yard line with 4:17 left in the 3rd quarter. After just the third play Drew Brees connected to Pierre Thomas for a 5 yard touchdown pass that made the score 24-17 with the Saints leading with 4:03 remaining in the 3rd quarter. That was a huge momentum changer that favored the Saints. Then the game seemed over after the Saints took a 31-17 lead with 11:10 left in the 4th quarter. The defense however stepped up, and made key stops to give the offense a chance for a comeback. The Cowboys offense was able to score 14 points taking just 3:20 to do so. Cowboys had to momentum riding into the overtime period. The Cowboys even won the coin toss, but had to punt. The Saints offense drove down the field it looked too easy. At the Dallas 24 yard line Marques Colston gets striped of the football by Morris Claiborne after the completed pass, but Graham lands on the ball at the 2 yard line. That sets up a 20 yard field goal from Garrett Hartley which is good. The offense showed that they could drive the ball today, but couldn't get down the field in their only drive in the overtime period. Tony Romo and Drew Brees both threw for over 400 yards! This was the first game this year that both quarterbacks in an NFL game both threw for 400 yards. Stats wise Jason Witten broke the record for most receptions for a Tight End in a regular season. The most productive player on the Cowboys today was Dez Bryant. Bryant had 9 receptions for 224 yards! The Cowboys to get in the playoffs is simple; the Cowboys need to win in Washington next week. It is possible, but the defense needs to play a lot stronger than they did against the Redskins on Thanksgiving. The defense on that day gave up 28 points in the 2nd quarter. For the Cowboys to be successful next week they must get defensive stops. Cowboys play the Redskins for right now it is scheduled to start at 12:00 central, but don't be surprised if it gets moved to either 3:25 or 7:20 for a Sunday night game. Cowboys need to win, or they are done!

Grizzlies maul Mavs 92-82

For the second straight night the Dallas Mavericks lose the game by double digits. Tonight though, the Mavericks were never completely out of the game. The Mavs never led, but had tied up the score 47 to 47 and 49 to 49 in the middle of the third quarter. The team looked a lot better tonight then they did against the Heat. There were points in the game were it seemed as if the Mavericks were going to get in too deep of a hole, but they were battling to the best of their abilities. With the current shape this team is in with not very much depth; you really can't ask for more. The Mavericks main struggle tonight was the lack of defensive rebounds in the 4th quarter when there was less than 5:00 left in the game. Memphis SG Rudy Gay was on fire tonight with 26 points. PF Zach Randolf had a double double tonight with 17 points, and 18 rebounds. With a win tonight, the Grizzlies will take their record to 18 wins and 6 losses. It will take a miracle for the Mavericks to just get one victory on this road trip! Sunday they will play the Spurs, then the Thunder on Thursday. There is a good chance that Dirk will make his return against the Thunder Thursday night. I hope Dirk can make a Peyton Manning like return back to the court.

King James Reigns Supreme over Mavs 110-95

The score in this one tells you all you need to know. The Miami Heat got after the Mavericks early on, and would go on to blow out the Mavericks.At one point in the third quarter, the Heat had a 30 point lead. LeBron James helped his team out early on putting up a season high 13 points in the first quarter. Not only did he score 13, but he also found open teammates all over the court for them to get points. LeBron James would end the evening with 25 points and 9 rebounds. What this game showed me is that there is not much depth on this team right now. It is already been reported that newly acquired PG Derek Fisher will be out for a few games. Meanwhile, we still have not seen Dirk play a single game yet. Nowitizki however did participate in practice today, and he says if he feels healthy he could be back to play as soon as one week from tomorrow night. Honestly though with him being back on the team I still believe this team doesn't have enough talent to prevail in the playoffs. For this team to just make it into the postseason in the number eight seed I believe will be a successful season. This team just does not have what it takes to bring home a title. The Mavericks will need to shake off this loss and try to focus on beating the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow night on the road. After that game they have to travel to San Antonio to play the Spurs, then they have to play the Oklahoma City Thunder. All I can say is GOOD LUCK!