Mavs Grind Out 84-81 Win Over Blazers

The Mavericks showcased some shutdown defense all game long, while Jason Terry (31) displayed his fourth quarter heroics once again to lead the Mavericks to a close win over Portland. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

In a game where baskets were difficult to come by, Jason Terry provided just enough spark in the fourth quarter to give the Dallas Mavericks (26-8) their second straight victory. Terry scored seven of the Mavs' final nine points of the contest to put away the game.

"The fourth quarter is [Terry's] show," Tyson Chandler said. "He's done it over and over. He's so clutch, so much fun to watch."

Butler Done For Season

Dallas will miss Caron Butler's 15 points per game. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

After undergoing season-ending knee surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right knee, Dallas Mavericks' forward Caron Butler will miss the rest of the regular season.

Butler was making his way up the Mavericks scoring totem pole over the last few weeks, averaging 21.5 points per in the four games before his injury. The swingman was second in scoring among Mavs' not named Dirk Nowitzki at 15 points per, only a fraction of a point behind Jason Terry at 15.4, and had bumped up his shooting percentage for the season to 45 percent.

Needless to say, this is a huge blow to an already injury-riddled and struggling Dallas team.

Rebound Game - Mavs Take Down Cavs 104-95

Dallas bounces back against the lowly Cavaliers, holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the contest, led by Shawn Marion (above) and a revitalized, team-wide scoring attack. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

A healthy Dallas Mavericks (25-8) squad -- the "Streak Busters" of the NBA -- is something you don't want to see upcoming on the schedule when on a winning streak. On the other hand, the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-26) are the team you relish seeing -- especially when in the midst of a losing streak.

Shawn Marion (22) and DeShawn Stevenson (21) both set season-highs in points, while all five Mavericks' starters scored in double figures to snap a three-game losing streak in taking down the team with the second-worst record in basketball.

"We are beat up right now," Marion said. "We needed this game. We had a tough night in Milwaukee."

Cowboys Take Down Eagles' Backups - 14-13

Demarcus Ware (94), Terence Newman (41) and a stifling Cowboys' defense provided the spark to allow Dallas to squeak out a win against Philly's second-teamers. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

With third-string quarterback Steven McGee making the first start of his career, the onus was on the Dallas Cowboys (6-10) defense to make this a winnable game against the Philadelphia Eagles' (10-6).

The Dallas D proved up to the challenge; forcing four turnovers, accumulating six sacks and scoring a touchdown against backup quarterback Kevin Kolb and the rest of the Eagles' second stringers.

Boykins, Bucks Down Depleted Mavs- 99-87

Caron Butler went down, along with the franchise record eight-game road winning streak as Earl Boykins (above) and the Bucks handled Dallas in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

For the second time this season, the Milwaukee Bucks (13-18) have delivered a potentially serious blow to this Dallas Mavericks (24-8) team.

First it was the premature end to the Mavs' 12-game winning streak in Dallas just a few weeks ago. This time it's a lopsided victory with potentially far-reaching implications, not just because it handed the Mavs' their third straight loss, but more so because of the first quarter exit from Caron Butler due to an apparent right knee injury.

Butler joins Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion as important Mavericks to have missed time in an injury-riddled past week.

"We're short on bodies now, having some injury problems," Dirk Nowitzki said.