http://tinyurl.com/mo58r6g NEW YORK — A mountain of reasons made last season forgettable for Dirk Nowitzki. At the top was missing the playoffs. Somewhere below that, but not an insignificant cause of his pain in that lost year, was that Nowitzki didn’t get to play at Madison Square Garden. That will make Monday night’s visit to one of basketball’s most historic buildings all the more special for him. And it’s almost always magical when he visits. He’s averaged 27.2 points in 13 career games at MSG. He’s topped 30 points in more than half his appearances there. “To me, behind [American Airlines Center], it’s probably the best arena to play in,” he said. “I was really sad I missed the game there last year with my knee injury. That was a tough one to watch. I’m glad I’m healthy again, and hopefully I’ll have a good game. “It’s a fun atmosphere, and obviously New York fans know basketball and appreciate good basketball.” Thus, the fans should appreciate the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night because they’ve been playing some solid basketball for the better part of a month. They are 9-3 since Jan. 25. The Knicks? Not so much. They have lost eight of their last 10, and fans have begun to lose faith that the Knicks are playoff material. And, truth be told, even with their current run of success, the Mavericks can ’t take that for granted, either. And that’s in spite of putting together some impressive credentials. Such as, they have a chance against the Knicks to sweep a three-game road trip for the second time this season. That’s something they haven’t done since the championship season of 2010-11, when they swept three-game trips on three separate occasions. It would be ludicrous to start drawing any comparisons between this year’s Mavericks and the champs. Yet it is no small achievement to be piling up road victories like they have. To be 16-14 says a lot about them, particularly since they started the season 2-6 away from home. That success has vaulted them 11 games over .500 for the first time this season, though they still can’t stake a claim to any comfortable position when it comes to the playoffs. They woke up Sunday still stuck in the eighth and final playoff seed, one game up on Memphis in the loss column. At this point, it’s shaping up as nine teams vying for the eight playoff spots since 10th-place Minnesota is six games behind the Mavericks with only 25 to play. Call it a 25-game sprint to finish the marathon season. And with Memphis playing better, the Mavericks know they can’t afford to stumble. After banking wins at Philadelphia and Detroit, finishing this trip anything less than 3-0 will represent failure. Maybe not an unmitigated disaster, but it definitely would fall short of what they expect. Plus, they have no shortage of motivation because the Knicks already dinged the Mavericks in Dallas, 92-80, in early January. “Yeah, we’d love to [finish the sweep],” Nowitzki said. “They won at San Antonio, and they should have won at Houston. Then they ran through us, and it really wasn’t even that close. For some reason, they play well against us, and we know [Carmelo Anthony] has been on a tear. We all know that. He’s one of the best scorers this game has. Even though their record may not show it, they’re a good team.” Perhaps, but the Knicks still represent a team the Mavericks are supposed to beat. And expect Nowitzki to be leading the charge in his home away from home. Keeping tabs: The Mavericks are paying close attention to free agents who have been released over the last few days. Players who become free agents before March 1 are eligible for playoff rosters. President Donnie Nelson said the Mavericks are talking to numerous agents but have yet to find a suitable fit among players who have been set free by their teams. The Mavericks would have to waive a player if they want to pick somebody up. Glen Davis was among the players who already have committed to new teams. Others still on the market: Antawn Jamison and Earl Clark. On Broadway Dirk Nowitzki has topped 30 points in more than half of this 13 games at Madison Square Garden. There Mavericks are 8-5 in those games. Points / Date 39 / Nov. 16, 2008 36 / Dec. 10, 2007 34 / Feb. 19, 2012 32 / Jan. 11, 2006 31 / Jan. 12, 2004 30 / Jan. 24, 2003 30 / Jan. 3, 2002 Dirk說上季沒辦法到Madison Square Garden打球 令他感到難過 他很喜歡那個球場的氣氛跟球迷 Dirk在MSG打的13場球生涯平均27.3分 小牛過去12場9勝3敗 灰熊最近表現不錯 所以小牛知道自己要努力贏球不要被超過 小牛最近在密切注意自由市場動態 在3/1前成為自由球員的人如果被球隊簽下 可以在季後賽出賽 目前市場上還有Jamison跟Earl Clark Dirk在MSG的13場比賽有7場破30分 分別是 Points / Date 39 / Nov. 16, 2008 36 / Dec. 10, 2007 34 / Feb. 19, 2012 32 / Jan. 11, 2006 31 / Jan. 12, 2004 30 / Jan. 24, 2003 30 / Jan. 3, 2002 --

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