Dirk Nowitzki (photo. Monte Isom)

What message did Rick Carlisle need to communicate to his team before facing off against the Timberwolves at home yesterday? With a one game edge on the eight-seed Jazz and the season finale coming up against the Rockets (Dallas is 1-2 vs. HOU this year), this was a must-win game, right? God knows nobody wants to draw the Lakers in round one.

But Carlisle’s crew didn’t put forth a top-notch effort last night. They blew a 13-point lead against the T-Wolves, only to pull out the win because of a boneheaded mistake by Sebastian Telfair. So should Carlisle have to explain his team’s shoddy effort for the vast majority of the night?

The Dallas writers are killing the Mavs today even though Jason Terry came to the rescue with 0.2 seconds to stick a game-winner in Bassy’s grill. They’re saying that Dallas was outplayed from the jump, and if Bassy didn’t pass the ball directly to Erick Dampier on Minnesota’s possession prior to Terry’s heroics, the Mavs would be neck-and-neck with the Jazz for that eight-spot.

From Mavs’ beat writer Eddie Sefko…

For the longest time Monday night, the Mavericks played as if they didn’t want the pressure that comes with a legitimate chance to win a playoff series. They played as if they wanted eighth place.

They know – like everybody else – that if you finish eighth in the West, you are dead men walking. Four games, maybe five, against the Lakers, and the housecleaning begins.

And Dallas News’ Jean-Jacque Taylor…

There’s really no way to explain why the Mavs, who should be on their collective knees each night praying they don’t end up in the eighth seed, blew a 13-point lead against the raggedy Minnesota Timberwolves.

Did I mention, they went more than eight minutes without a field goal, spanning the second and third quarters?

Ridiculous.

Actually, I could give you some other words, but I’m trying to provide my 5-year-old son, A.J., with a positive role model.

But on the flip side, there is a positive spin for the Mavs. This wasn’t a real playoff game. No matter how often pundits say that a game is a “must-win,” it isn’t really unless it’s “win-or-go-home.”

And, ultimately, Dallas won the freakin’ game. They executed on both sides of the ball with their backs against the wall, including a flawless out-of-bounds play to get JET a 14-foot game-winner. When they needed to get the job done in the fourth quarter, they stopped settling and got the shots that they needed. Through the first three quarters, Dallas made five shots within 10 feet of the basket. During the fourth, they made four shots within 10 feet. Even if a team doesn’t always do what they need to for all 48 minutes, the fact that they do it when it counts is what matters.

Right now, it’s almost fashionable to panic about your team. Magic fans are dumping themselves about their recent output. Pistons fans are trashing their team for getting beat last night by the Bulls, securing them a date against the red-hot Cavaliers. There’s no need to throw Dallas into that same boat – they’re winners of four of their last five and six of their last eight. If the cards fall in their favor, a win over Houston tomorrow night could give them a leg-up on the team that they draw in round one of the playoffs. And they won’t be worrying about this near-miss when that game rolls around.