SAN ANTONIO – For better or worse, Dirk Nowitzki tried to do it all Wednesday night. Nobody else was volunteering for the job, so he figured he'd go for it. On the second night of back-to-back games, and with San Antonio's dig-in defense constantly hounding him, Nowitzki's magic didn't happen this time. He had moments. But in the end, it was a hard lesson that this particular Mavericks team can't revert to the days when they asked Dirk to do it all. The 9-for-27 shooting only tells part of the story. It was a rugged night all the way for Nowitzki – and everybody else – because of the Spurs' defense. But in the end, it still looked like the Mavericks were asking for too much from their star. "It's unfortunate it comes down to having to throw the ball to Dirk every time and have him win the game on his own," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We're not going to play on a high level and win at a high level doing that." It's like Jason Kidd said a week earlier when Nowitzki had 29 fourth-quarter points against Utah. If the Mavericks ask him to do that regularly, he'll be used up by Christmas. Nowitzki is willing to put it all on him. But when the Mavericks fall behind like they seem to every game, at some point, isn't all this other depth and talent supposed to kick in?
