With Dirk Nowitzki still out due to injury, the Dallas Mavericks have become O.J. Mayo's team in the interim.

Mayo is averaging 24.1 points on 53.5 percent shooting from the field in the Mavericks' nine wins. In the team's 10 losses, Mayo is averaging 16 points on 40.7 percent shooting.

"Obviously when you do lose, you probably didn't shoot the ball very well," Mayo said. "Unless you shot a high percentage and the other team shoots a better percentage.

"But even when we don't have a great offensive game we've still got to find a way to win. And that's picking it up on defense and making an ugly offensive night into an ugly win."

Mayo came off the bench during his final two seasons with the Grizzlies.

"I don't know many players who don't want to start," Rick Carlisle said. "There's some that are willing, and every once in a while you get a guy like Jason Terry that embraces it and really views it as a different kind of thing.

"O.J. has shown that he's a team guy -- he went along with that in Memphis and did a terrific job with that. Our situation is different, and we need him to be a starter here."

Mayo, however, is excited to finally be able to play with Nowitzki.

"I think we all are. It's going to be fine. It gives us our best weapon out there, and obviously he's our franchise player and our leader."