Dallas (25-19) beat a surging Philadelphia team 95-93 in the opener of its trip on Jan. 19 and took advantage of a struggling Detroit club in a 112-91 victory Friday night. They were much-needed road wins for the Mavericks, who had lost their first four games away from home this month by an average of 14.3 points.

The Mavericks' success in those wins, however, was offset by their struggles in the two losses on the trip. They gave up a season high-tying point total in a 133-99 loss to Milwaukee last Wednesday, and closed the trip with a 124-100 defeat to Boston on Sunday.

Coach Rick Carlisle knew visiting the streaking Celtics would be a challenge, but was particularly disappointed with his team's effort in that game. The Mavericks gave up 74 points in the first half, got outscored 24-12 off turnovers and trailed by as much as 35.

"I thought they were really looking forward to the game," Carlisle said of his players. "Boston was great, and we needed to be better. We haven't come across a team that plays this effective defensively."

The Warriors (14-31) have been far worse defensively this season, giving up a league-high 111.6 points per game.

Golden State, however, is coming off a 107-92 victory over the injury-plagued Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. It was the eighth time this season the Warriors have held their opponent to fewer than 100 points.

The win capped a 4-3 homestand for Golden State, but coach Don Nelson wasn't convinced his team has turned a corner.

"Actually, we played better in the games we lost than we played tonight," Nelson said Sunday. "I don't know that was possible through all the transition that we're going through right now, I don't think we're going to even answer that question for another couple of weeks, but we'll keep doing what we're doing."

Nelson's club will have a better chance of sustaining success if Corey Maggette can continue to contribute off the bench.

Maggette, who opened the season as Golden State's starting small forward, has averaged 21.8 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 58.2 percent in five straight games as a reserve.

Maggette says he's fine with his new role.

"Just coming off the bench trying to give the team a lift, that's my job right now," he said.

The Warriors have also gotten a lift from the return of Monta Ellis, who's totaled 30 points in two games after missing the first three months of the season with an ankle injury suffered in an offseason mo-ped accident.

"I feel good," Ellis said. "My wind is coming back. No pain, no swelling, no nothing. Everything is good right now."

The Warriors, one of the worst road teams in the league at 4-20, have lost three of four meetings with the Mavericks since upsetting them in the first round of the 2007 playoffs to become the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a top-seeded opponent in a best-of-seven series. Including the postseason, Golden State has lost four straight in Dallas.

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has averaged 26.9 points and 9.1 rebounds and shot 51.2 percent from the field in his last eight home games against the Warriors, including the playoffs.