Can Dallas do it again?  As inconsistent as this team has been, it's really impossible to say.  Avery is hoping that finally changes.

"It would be nice for us to just hit a good wave. We’ve had times over the last couple of years where we’ve gone on big, huge winning streaks. We’ve done it in playoffs and the regular season.

"And this year we haven’t had any sort of really sustained momentum for a long period of time. Like I keep telling the team, this would be a good time to start."

That has probably been the most annoying thing about the Mavs this season - their inability to just get on a run - both in terms of a long winning streak and even within games.   Dallas only had one winning streak of more than five games all season, and that was in January.

David Moore isn't convinced that game three indicates anything about how Dallas will play in game four.

The Mavericks have won more than three consecutive games only once since late January. If you're a little sketchy with dates, that's before the team traded for Jason Kidd.

Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler aren't convinced either.  They have both been quoted a saying Dallas can't play better than they did in game three.

----------------------

Eddie Sefko has an article about how much Dallas got to the line in the last game.  Byron Scott thought Dallas was getting all the calls because they were at home, but Cuban says the Hornets can only blame themselves.

"We are going to the line because they are trying to be physical with us and trying to intimidate us, and it's not working," Cuban said. "Chris Paul was all over the court [in Game 3] yelling at everyone how soft they were, trying to stare down the bench. If you are going to play that game, throw elbows all around the court and smack people every chance you get, you can't gripe about fouls being called.

Either way, Dallas shouldn't depend on having a +25 FT advantage in game four.

-----------------------

Jerry Stackhouse isn't 100%. I think we knew this, but why was he starting then?

"We worked him pretty good," Johnson said, referring to Saturday's practice...

"He's not where he needs to be in conditioning and timing."

--------------------

Caplan has a long article about Jason Terry being the 'X-factor' in this series.

---------------------

Chris Paul says New Orleans is excited about the chance to redeem themselves in game four.

"That's the most fun thing about these playoffs is that after the game we were so excited because we know that was unlike us," Paul said. "It was a lot of energy and emotion in here, and we're just so happy that we get a chance to redeem ourselves."

----------------------

Dampier was asked about flagrant foul, which the league ruled did not deserve a suspension, and actually provided something quote worthy.

"Suspended for what?" Dampier asked, then made reference to David West's cheek tap of Dirk Nowitzki in Game 1. "Should you get suspended for touching somebody on their face? Is that almost like a punch? If you're a point guard, you're going to get contact. If you don't like the contact, don't drive down the lane."