Eddir Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas Mavericks won?t have to play short handed any longer. Even though they have sprinted to a 14-0 record before finally losing to the Pacers, they have only been playing with an 8-man rotation.

With the return of Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel from the injured list, the Mavs will have more options off the bench. Both players will be in uniform on Saturday against Chicago. "We're playing at a real high level right now, and I expect that to continue," coach Don Nelson said. "But we need some help. It'll be good to have those guys back. We need them."

Nelson will probably start both players on the bench and work them gradually into their regular roles. Their return means that Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash can finally have their playing time reduced a bit. Nowitzki has played 42 minutes or more in three of the past four games. Finley has averaged 41.4 minutes in the past six games, and Nash also has put in more than 35 minutes in four of the past five.

"It certainly should help those guys get a little more rest," Nelson said. "But they're always going to play quite a bit."

The Pacers had a point to prove, so what better opportunity than on national TV?  Hey, it works for Jerry Springer!

Mark Montieth of the Indianapolis Star writes that the Pacers felt that they wanted to push the point across that they are for real and that they can beat any team.  They proved it last night by handing the Dallas Mavericks their first loss of the season, denying Dallas the opportunity becoming the third team in NBA history to start a season 15-0.  The Pacers now sit in second place in the NBA with a 12-2 record.

"There are only so many statement games throughout the year, and this was one of them," Reggie Miller said.  "Everybody contributed."

It certainly was a team effort for the Pacers, with different players dominating at different points in the game.  'Ron Artest scored the game's first 10 points. Al Harrington had 15 in the second quarter, when he solved the Mavericks' zone by getting into the foul lane. And Jermaine O'Neal scored 13 in the final period, capping off a second consecutive standout game,' writes Montieth.

"I wanted to win the game, not only for my team and the city but for my family," O'Neal said. "You can barely understand what she's saying because she's only 3. I'll try to get her to write more letters."

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas Mavericks are one win away from tying the NBA record for the best record to start a season. After their 102-82 win against the Pistons last night, they are 14-0. The record is 15-0.

The Mavericks go for that record Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers. A victory at Conseco Fieldhouse will tie them with the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitols for the best start. The Mavericks also improved to 7-0 on the road. The franchise record for consecutive road wins is eight.

Last nights? win was even more impressive because the Mavericks carved up one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on their own court. The Mavs demolished the Pistons by 39 points in Dallas 18 days ago. After last night?s win in Detroit, the Mavs swept the season series by a combined 59 points.

Right now, the Mavericks can't get any better in one regard. The only way to improve on 14-0 is to reach 15-0.

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports: On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak to 12 games and remained the NBA's only undefeated team with a 103-90 victory at American Airlines Center over the Houston Rockets.

The franchise-record 12th consecutive victory came with the Big Three of Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash teaming for 67 points.

The Mavericks won despite a career night from Rockets rookie center Yao Ming, who finished the game with 30 points and 16 rebounds.

Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports that if the Knicks trade Latrell Sprewell, the Dallas will probably not be his next destination. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said his Mavericks have no interest in swapping Sprewell for Nick Van Exel, who went on the injured list Monday following right knee surgery.

"That's the New York papers. That's their job, to make up stuff," Cuban said before his Mavs faced the Nets last night. When asked if there was any truth to the reports, he said: "Nothing. I would say so. I would tell you the truth, but no, there's no interest in trading Nick Van Exel for Latrell Sprewell.

"There's no interest in trading Nick Van Exel for some combination of guys on the Knicks. There's nothing there. There's always interest in trading for a good player, but what we'd be willing to offer they're probably not willing to take."

When asked about reports of the Knicks acquiring the Dallas center Shawn Bradley with their $4.5 million disabled player exception Cuban said, "Are you kidding me? No. We didn't use our $4.5 million exception. What good is it going to do to have another one from somebody else? No, no interest."

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports that Paul Pierce isn?t smiling anymore. When it was pointed out that he was outscored by Philadelphia?s Todd MacCulloch, he laughed it off because the Celtics had won the game. After last nights loss to Dallas, with Shawn Bradley outscoring Pierce 10-9, the joke ceased to be funny.

``It's a little frustrating,'' Pierce said after last night's 97-86 loss to the now 9-0 Mavericks. ``It's something I haven't worried about, but it's a little frustrating tonight because we lost. We won six in a row, so regardless of how my shot was going we were winning. I'm not going to be worried about it, but it's disappointing when you lose.''

``I don't have any concerns about Paul's stroke,'' said Celtics coach Jim O'Brien. ``I think he's one of the great scorers in the league. They played zone. And it's a little bit like the man-to-man that the 76ers played when they had (Dikembe) Mutombo. When you have somebody that's a prolific shot-blocker inside, you can push up as hard as you want on the other team's scorers. And what they did with Paul was getting under his chin and making him either pass the ball or making him shoot challenge shots. ``Their response is, well, if you want to drive the ball into 7-foot-6, be our guest. And (Bradley) had five blocked shots.''

Before last night?s game, Pierce had scored in double figures in 78 straight contests. His shooting slump has gone on for four games now. Pierce started out 3-14 against Minnesota last Saturday. Then He missed 8 of his first 11 against Utah. In both games, he was able to finish strong. Against Philly, he finished 4-20 and never got on track. The Mavericks were able to hold him to 4-20 from the field as well.

``It's been difficult the last two games, but that's something I'm not really worried about," Pierce said. "Once I get back into my rhythm, I know I'll be all right. I'm going to just keep playing, keep doing other things. I know I'll be fine. The last couple of nights shots haven't really been there. . . . But I'm never going to be worried about how many shots I miss and how many I make. I'm going to just keep playing the game.''

The Cavs (2-7) had the NBA's last remaining undefeated team on the ropes with a 13-point lead in the third quarter but the Mavs rallied for their eighth straight victory.

The Cavs got a career night by Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds. Jumaine Jones, in his first start of the season, had 23 points. Davis came off the bench and had 19.

Michael Finley led the Mavs with 26 and Dirk Nowitzki, who had four points through the first three quarters, finished with 17.

It was the Cavs' fifth straight loss, but Lucas and guard Bimbo Coles were happy about other changes.

"I absolutely loved the way we played tonight," Lucas said.

"We moved the basketball and we had 27 assists and did all the things that a basketball team needs to do."

Coles said the offense was finally in gear.

"All we had to do was be patient and that's what we did," Coles said. "If we make cuts and reads you can get a lot of good shots in our offense and that's what we did. Except we didn't do that during the fourth quarter. We just didn't make shots."

Ilgauskas was making all of the shots during the third, scoring 12 points. On one play, Ilgauskas saved the ball from going out of bounds with a pass to the cutting Tyrone Hill. Hill made the layup for an 11-point lead, but Ilgauskas was not finished. He nailed consecutive free throws and hit a jumper to extend the Cavs' lead.

"We couldn't guard Ilgauskas at all," said Mavs coach Don Nelson.

The Cavs were cruising and led, 71-58, with three minutes left in the period. Steve Nash and Nowitzki, who average 17 and 22 points respectively, combined for 12 in the third.

The Mavs needed someone to step up and they got it in Walt Williams. Williams nailed two 3-pointers during a 12-0 run that brought Dallas within 71-70 heading into the fourth. The Mavs also received help off the bench from Avery Johnson, who finished with 12.

"A.J. and Walt Williams kept our heads above water when we were about to drown," Nelson said.

Davis, Ilgauskas and Jones rallied the Cavs early in the fourth. The Mavs finally got some scoring out of Nowitzki, who scored six straight points for a three-point lead. The Cavs and Mavs battled but Davis broke the ice with a steal and a spectacular slam over Nash for a two-point lead.

"That's one of my best dunks ever," Davis said. "I rank it with my tip slam I got in Philadelphia."

Unfortunately for the Cavs, their shooting went stale. By the time they made their next field goal, the Mavs were leading by three with 10 seconds left. Turnovers and costly fouls were too much to overcome.

"We had some costly turnovers and I had a couple of them down the stretch," Milt Palacio said. "Walt Williams' shots hurt us and those were momentum breakers but the character of this team tonight was encouraging after playing terrible one night and playing well the next night."

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Mavs may or may not add another player to take the place of the injured Nick Van Exel. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that the chances of adding a player to the roster are "50-50 at best".

While the team continues to look for a suitable replacement, several factors are making it difficult to sign someone. First of all, Van Exel may not be out as long as originally reported. After successful arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the Mavs are hopeful of shaving some time off the original 3-6 week rehab estimate.

Another factor is that most free agents are demanding guaranteed money. Unfortunately, once Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz and Popeye Jones are healthy, there will probably be no room left for another player. Using guaranteed money to sign a replacement may end up being a waste of money.

George McCloud, one of the players under consideration, said Wednesday that he is hoping to get something resolved in the next few days. He also has had inquires from Orlando and Philadelphia, among other teams.

"Something is going to pop," McCloud said. "I'm going to pick the best situation for me. If a team offered me a guaranteed contract, but it wasn't a good situation, I wouldn't go. I want to sign with a team that has a chance to win or have a playoff run. I'm not asking to start, just an opportunity to play."

With the injured players getting healthier, Cuban isn?t sure they should sign a point-forward like McCloud or anyone at all. "Nick came through his surgery great and Raef's swelling [in his ankle] is down," Cuban said. "We haven't decided which way to go."

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that Nick Van Exel will be out 4-6 weeks after surgery on his knee. The procedure wasn?t performed to correct any specific injury, but to repair the wear and tear on the joint over a 10-year career.

"It happened quickly after the last game," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "Nick just didn't think he could be effective. He talked to the captains and talked to me, and it went very well. They cleaned it up and are very happy with it. We were told four to six weeks. So we're in a situation where we're going to be without Nick for a little bit."

The Mavericks are now looking for a replacement to play the role of backup to Steve Nash, but they may not settle for a traditional point guard. George McCloud is one of the players being considered. He is a forward with point guard skills who averaged 8.8 points and 3 assists in 69 games with the Nuggets last season.

Other free agent guards include Dell Curry, Greg Anthony, Eddie Gill, Dana Barros, Mookie Blaylock and Matt Maloney. "There's not a lot left out there, but there's a couple of players we're taking a look at," Nelson said. "What I'm looking for is a veteran who I know what he can do. And I don't think we can have enough shooters."

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that the Knicks are still searching for their starting center. The search has led them to Shawn Bradley and the Mavericks.

Knicks? GM Scott Layden recently spoke to Dallas officials about the 7-6 Bradley. New York has been interested in Bradley for years. The Mavericks reportedly aren?t interested in anyone from the Knicks? roster, but may be interested in trading Bradley for New York?s $4.5 million injury exception.

Layden has until December 2nd to use the exception before it expires.

Bradley?s shot blocking skills would greatly improve New York?s interior defense. The Knicks feel they can compete with a front line of Bradley, Kurt Thomas and Latrell Sprewell. Next season, with a healthy Antonio McDyess, Thomas could come off the bench.

Recently, New York and Dallas talked about a possible Nick Van Exel trade, but the Knick?s new policy of fiscal responsibility made it impossible to accept Van Exels? huge contract. Bradley?s $22 million over the next 5 seasons is more palatable to the Knicks.