A nice Game at Noon. HIGH NOON.

Today’s game cannot be overstated when it comes to the Mavericks’ mental outlook, not to mention their status in the standings.

The Mavericks are are 2-2 on the longest trip of the season that will come to a merciful end today. They started the journey with a dreadful afternoon loss at Toronto. They can’t afford to end it the same way at Madison Square Garden.

"We got one more game on this trip to make it 3-2," Marion said. "That can be a good trip."

"We’re going through a rough period here the last couple weeks where we lost some games we would have won earlier," Dirk Nowitzki said. "But hey, I think every season has ups and downs. We’ve all been through it. We just have to fight out of it."

Dirk Nowitzki has been piling up the minutes, and that lengthy rest period he had in the summer is not much of a factor now, he said.

Nowitzki didn’t play basketball for a couple of months after last season and said he felt fresher than ever in training camp and earlier in the season.

"I was [fresher] in November," he said, "but with all these minutes I’ve been logging, it’s about the same now."

MFollowill

1. Erick Dampier is inactive 2day vs NY w/ the left knee effusion again 25 minutes ago from TinyTwitter
2. Mavs and Knicks at noon on @FSSouthwest. No Jason Kidd for Dallas 2day, not w/ team for personal reasons about 2 hours ago from TinyTwitter
3. Kidd left team after Philly game, only 2nd game he has missed since returning 2 Mavs, back spasms kept him out last March in a 2 pt L to Den 12 minutes ago from web

Dallas Bodies -2 | Overweight Knicks 1 | Underperforming Mavs 3 | Poasting and Toasting

[Update] Beautiful wood.

"I just wanted to get the foul," Beaubois said. "I was surprised when I saw the ball go in, for sure."

PGQ after the Jump.

Head Coach Rick Carlisle

On today’s game: "We played well. We defended well and we made shots. That’s a good combination. It wasn’t their night, but we had something to do with it. It’s surprising that it went the way it did, but sometimes those things happen. This is a good win for us."

More on today’s game:"Once in a blue moon this happens. Fortunately for them it counts as one loss. It’s a win for us. You move on. If you’re them you flush it, if you’re us we have to get ready for the next game, and forget about it."

Dirk Nowitzki

On today’s game: "It all started defensively for us. They really live and die with the three point shot. We tried to take that out of the game, I think they only had one three [pointer] in the first half. We tried to take David Lee’s rolls away, the open layups he gets. Anytime you hold a team to 33 percent shooting in their own gym, you did a heck of a job. Offensively I think we moved the ball, we didn’t force anything, we got some good looks. Drew Gooden was phenomenal. A lot of guys got off to a good start. Jet [Jason Terry] was great all night. It was a solid effort on both ends off the court."

More on today’s game"We talked about it obviously, we came off a disappointing loss in Philly where we didn’t have anything going on either end of the floor. We wanted to make sure we played good D [Defense] and offense. So we stayed focused during the third quarter even though we had the lead. We played like it was a tight game. Our defense kept competing, we kept rebounding, and pushing the ball and making plays so it was fun to watch."

On the first half:"Like I said, they live with the three, so a 15-point lead is really nothing against them. If they hit a couple threes they’re right back in the game. You never know with this team. We wanted to make sure we played well defensively, got back in transition, and stayed with the shooters. We did a good job, I think our defense really won us the game tonight. Myself I didn’t really have a lot of great looks there in the first half. But the team was great, we were still up fifteen so I didn’t want to force anything. So I just stayed aggressive during the second half and made some plays."

Head Coach Mike D’Antoni

On today’s game:"It’s hard to even comment on this game, it was just so bad. Every area is regretful, but it’s happened, and we just try to flush it down the toilet and get ready."

More on today’s game:"I thought the first quarter, we played well. You have to give them some credit in a sense they shot the ball extremely well. They took our hearts out of us. When we did play very good defense, they still made the shots. When we slipped up, they still made the shots. A lot of it was them. They were very good. They were much more athletic than we were today. They played harder. They shot the ball extremely well. You see why they’re one of the top teams in the West."

Wilson Chandler

On today’s game:"They came out very aggressive. I think for the most part they played very aggressive on defense. They took away our inside with David Lee. I think they just made shots, some wide open. It’s hard to guard when you get hot like that. We have to give them a lot of credit. They did a great job on offense and defense."

On the Dallas Mavericks: Drew Gooden has been good for a few years now with Cleveland and Orlando. When they have guys out like that and Jason Terry we just have to be more aggressive. We put ourselves in a hole and we have to get out of it. We have a lot to prove to ourselves and to the fans and just go out and play hard and get a ‘W’ by any means."

David Lee

On today’s game:"We did not play well at all but they came out and played as well as they could play with their shot making and executions. It was the perfect storm for about the worst game you could have."

Jared Jeffries

On today’s game:"We’re a much better team than this and no matter what circumstances there are, no matter if the team is making shots, or how well physically we are, a couple guys banged up injury-wise, we have to come out and give effort and have a little fight. We just didn’t have it. One through 12 (players) tonight, all the guys who came out there just didn’t have enough fight."

On team’s recent play: "I don’t think were averting back to the way we were. I think that we just have to figure out how hard we got to play because teams are upping their effort level, especially right before the All-Star break. Teams are making a push to get in good position before the All-Star break and we have to understand that the guys are playing at a much higher level and we have to match that."