But none of that mattered to the Mavericks, for they continued their magical run of a season, defeating the Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey Nets 112-100 at the Continental Airlines Arena. And as the boisterous guests bounced around the visiting locker room, a proud Don Nelson pronounced this to be the best team he has had in his 24 seasons as a head coach.


"I've got a pretty special team," Nelson said. "In terms of the skill of these guys, the injuries we've had, I've never had a better start."


Neither have the Mavericks, who arrive at the All-Star break with a franchise-best 35-14 record. Less than 24 hours after a double-overtime victory in Indianapolis, the Mavericks made a franchise-record 27 of 27 free throws and outscored the hosts 16-2 over the final 5:49 to win their seventh consecutive road game. That ties a franchise record set last season.