Ten Western Conference teams entered the night with .500-or-better records. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle described the difficulty of climbing in the standings as a ground war.
It didn't take long Tuesday night for the Mavericks to reiterate what has become increasingly clear since their 2-7 season start: They are more armed for all manner of basketball warfare than most preseason prognosticators believed.
Dallas' 111-102 victory over Portland at American Airlines Center was its ninth in the last 11 games and 10th in the last 13 games.
"To bounce back after the start they had, they've had impressive wins against really good teams," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.