Mavs up 1-0?

The opening game of a series usually involves a feeling-out process for both sides. The same holds true for a team in the playoffs for the first time in years, such as the Hornets.

And unless teams have a past playoff history (see: Spurs-Suns), it usually takes a game or two for the emotions and the intensity to get amped up. Postseason rivalries don’t happen overnight.

But the Mavs-Hornets matchup may have gotten a jumpstart Wednesday when they met to conclude the regular season. The Hornets were in position to possibly knock Dallas to the eighth seed with an 11-point lead before the Mavs rallied for a 13-point win.

“You can possibly look at that as the first game of the series, but we don’t get credit for it as a win,” Jerry Stackhouse said. “It’s one of things that just as we’re looking at it, they’re looking at it the same way. They’ll go back to the drawing board. The playoffs are about making adjustments.

“What happened in that game [Wednesday] night won’t necessarily be indicative of what will happen in Game 1 and definitely won’t be indicative what happens in latter games as the series goes on.”