<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Dallas Mavericks got off to a rough start to this month, and now find themselves in danger of falling out of playoff position in the highly competitive Western Conference. After picking up their first win in March their last time out, however, the Mavericks begin a stretch against some of the worst teams in the mediocre Eastern Conference when they face the New York Knicks on Monday. Dallas (40-23) was in fifth place in the West at the end of February, but dropped to seventh after opening this month with three straight losses. The Mavs stopped the slide with Saturday's 111-91 victory over New Jersey. "As of right now, we're just trying to get back on track," Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki told the team's official Web site. "We had a three-game skid and we really didn't look that great. We've got to use this homestand to get better and get back to winning some games. The playoff picture is very tight so it was a big win for us and hopefully we can put together a nice little winning homestand here." The Mavericks can start to solidify their playoff standing by taking advantage of their upcoming schedule, as their next four games are against four of the five worst teams in the East. After Monday's contest, Dallas hosts Charlotte and Indiana before traveling to Miami. Despite their recent struggles, the Mavericks have won 13 of their last 14 at home and are 26-4 at the American Airlines Center this season. The Knicks (18-45), meanwhile, have lost four straight road games by an average of 23.7 points and are 6-24 away from Madison Square Garden this season. They've dropped seven in a row at Dallas since a 100-93 loss on Dec. 16, 1999. The Mavericks won 99-89 at MSG on Dec. 10 and have taken four straight and 11 of 12 overall against New York. Nowitzki had 36 points and seven rebounds versus the Knicks earlier this season, and he's averaging 28.4 points in his last 10 games against them. Nowitzki finished with 34 points Saturday to become the franchise's leading scorer. The reigning NBA MVP increased his point total to 16,644, one more than Rolando Blackman scored between 1981-82 and 1991-92. "Hopefully, I've got a lot of good basketball, a lot of points left in me for this franchise," said Nowitzki, averaging 30.3 points in his last four games. Josh Howard, second on the Mavericks with 19.5 points per game, had a season-low six in 24 foul-plagued minutes Saturday. He had 22 points and shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range against New York in December. The Knicks lost to Portland 120-114 in overtime Saturday and have dropped six straight and 17 of 21.</div> Read More Didn't have time for my normal preview.
