Darren Collison could have sulked when the Dallas Mavericks benched him in favor of Derek Fisher earlier in December, but the young point guard has battled through the adversity and used the step back to launch a resurgence for the season.

"When we got Fisher, some guys would have put their head down and sulked," Rick Carlisle said. "What [Collison] did was he started getting up earlier in the morning and getting here earlier and working harder on his game, being more vigilant about having film sessions with the coaches, and he's a guy that's going to succeed."

"Success, in large part in life, is a choice. And he decided when we got Fisher it wasn't going to be a thing where he was going to fade into the abyss. He worked harder."

Carlisle knows that Collison won't score 30-plus points every game -- as he did Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder -- but he wants his point guard to stay aggressive offensively.

"I love point guards who score," Carlisle said. "I think it's really important to have point guards that can score. Otherwise, people won't guard them."