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Warriors, Mavs face off in critical West battle

Apr 2, 2008 - 2:13 PM Minnesota (19-54) at Utah (49-26) 9:00 pm EDT

DALLAS (Ticker) - If Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors are hoping to return to the postseason, they better take care of business on Wednesday.

Davis will try to guide Golden State past the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks in a critical Western Conference battle.

The Warriors look to bounce back after suffering a 116-92 loss to the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on the road on Tuesday.

The setback put Golden State one-half game behind Denver (46-29) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West standings.

Dallas and Golden State played on Sunday, when Monta Ellis torched the Mavericks for 30 points in a 114-104 victory. Josh Howard scored 36 points in a losing effort.

The Mavericks could have reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki back in the lineup after he missed the pervious four games due to a high ankle sprain.

According to reports, Nowitzki worked out for 45 minutes in front of coach Avery Johnson, who still seemed to be on the fence about his All-Star's availability.

"He shot a few shots made a few, missed a few, and he moved OK," Johnson told the Dallas Morning News. "We'll know more when we see how he recovers and once he goes through (Wednesday's) shootaround.

"He was able to go through some contact. But is he ready to play in a game? We'll have to wait and see. But he felt pretty good."

Dallas needs this one just as bad as Golden State, which is just one game behind the Mavericks in the conference standings.