<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The messages on Jerry Stackhouse's cellphone came from everywhere. Friends and family had become basketball miracle workers. Everybody had the cure for what ailed the Mavericks. "You would have had a story, without question, listening to my voicemail," Stackhouse said. "There's a lot of coaches, prognosticators and analysts on there. "You have to find a way to sift through it all and find what you can actually use." The formula for success wasn't hard to find. They've known it for some time. "Our approach last year worked," coach Avery Johnson said. "What we did last year is a pretty good measuring stick for me and the team. All of us have to grow, and I have to grow. "There are certain things about the coaching craft that I recognize I have to improve in. Other than that, we don't need to change." Johnson's team was staring at 1-5 or 0-6 when it opened the three-game road trip after being blown out in the second half by the Los Angeles Clippers. Instead, the Mavs (2-4) left the Pacific Northwest in a much healthier frame of mind. In victories at Phoenix on Thursday (119-112) and Portland on Sunday (103-96), the Mavs clamped down defensively in the last two minutes of each game to pull away. The Suns were done in by a 7-0 closing run. A one-point lead (86-85) against the Trail Blazers grew to eight with a 9-2 spurt.</div> Source
