Ending the road drought

The playoff losing streak on the road has reached seven for the Mavs. The last win – Game 6 of the 2006 Western Conference finals at Phoenix – clinched the NBA Finals trip. Since then, they’ve lost three at Miami, three at Golden State and the opener of this series.

“We’re confident we can win on the road,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “We just have to go out and do it. Obviously, the team that loses always has to go back and look at some stuff and adjust and they’re probably ready for our adjustments.

“The playoffs are a game of adjustments. Hopefully, this is still going to be a long series. We still have a chance to get that split there. We’ve just got to get Game 2.”

They won’t advance without at least one win in New Orleans. Avery Johnson doesn’t put much stock in the streak, noting those previous six losses were without Jason Kidd.

“This team is 0-1 on the road and that’s the way we’re looking at it,” Johnson said. “We’ll try to even it up on Tuesday.”