Win, lose or draw, the Mavericks' fate lately always seems to come down to Dirk Nowitzki. And as long as he's on, the Mavericks can lack all the style points in the world and still have a great chance to win. The game in Milwaukee proved it. Wednesday night's 99-94 victory over the Spurs reaffirmed it when Nowitzki tipped in the basket that ended up getting the Mavericks to overtime. The Mavericks slogged around for three quarters, couldn't find the basket with a GPS and basically looked like they should be losing instead of up by four points, which they were. But while the Mavericks go along through this early season, the only real constant has been Dirk. No matter who's hurt or who's playing poorly, he's been an anchor. And while Drew Gooden, J.J. Barea, Roddy Beaubois and Jason Kidd all have given the Mavericks quality efforts, this remains Dirk's team. The more defenders hang all over him, the more Dirk just seems to figure out a way to thrive. And score. He had just nine points at halftime Wednesday, but lit up the Spurs in the second half and wound up with 41. He was the sole reason the game even made it to overtime. He was the heart and soul as well as the offense for the Mavericks. And that's been the case all season, really. Win, lose or draw, it seems to always come back to Dirk.
