Mavs Pop Rox: 9X50 = 6th

   Mavs 95, Rockets 84. A regular-season-ending climb to sixth. And if you were one of those MavVirus sufferers who in recent weeks gurgled up phrases like “they should tank,’’ “blow it up’’ or “they suck,’’ that’s OK.

   Dallas climbed into a respectable spot in the NBA Playoffs.

   And since I’ve been holding your seat, you can now climb back into your respectable spot on the bandwagon.

   Assuming you agree with me that there will be plenty of time to preview the Mavs-Spurs Round 1 classic (yes, that’s my for-now prediction: A memorable first-round duel between two Among-the-Best-of-the-Decade duelists), let’s just analyze, savor and time-capsule this game, this win, this Fan Appreciation Night.

   With pre-Playoff Donuts.

  But Kidd – with his keen sense of basketball history – also knows that what’s just been accomplished is fun, too.

   “To have started out 2-7 and then to still end up with 50 wins, which is usually the mark of a good team, that’s pretty impressive,’’ he said.

   Yessir. Around DallasBasketball.com, we call it “9X50.’’

   Me? I’m glad they didn’t tank, blow it up or suck. Being in the tournament – for the ninth straight year -- and with the added bonus of playing well going in for the first time in five years?

  That is pretty impressive.

   And this is gonna be fun.

  DONUT 2: A ballrack full of “statements’’ were made on Wednesday at the AAC. But here’s the one I love: The ESPN 103.3 Radio crew always selects a “Player of the Game.’’ Who would it be for Game 82? Coop makes the announcement:

   The “Player of the Game’’ is … Dirk Nowitzki.

   Also, the “Player of the Game’’ is Jason Terry.

   And also, the “Player of the Game’’ is Jason Kidd.

   Why Dirk? For his game-high 30 points and season-high-tying 15 rebounds. He was 13-of-23 from the floor, he finishes the season with 26 double-doubles, and he ties a career-high for 30-point games in a season with 26.

   I know this isn’t going to make me one of the “popular kids.’’ But I’ll say it anyway: Once you get beyond the otherworldly work this season of LeBron, The UberMan is pretty close to being as much of an MVP candidate as he’s ever been.

   Why Jason Terry? For his 33^rd game of 20-plus points off the bench. Jet scored 23 (on 10-of-17 shooting) and he scored 14 of those points in the final quarter. Those 14 were as many as the entire Houston team scored in the first quarter (while shooting 3-of-14.)

   Why Jason Kidd? For saving a critical moment to offer up a triple-double, the third of the season (and 103^rd of his career) for the future Hall-of-Famer.  Kidd gave the Mavs 11 points (featuring 3-of-3 on treys), 10 rebounds and 12 assists. And here I mention LeBron in the same breath again: Kidd recorded the third most triple-doubles in the NBA this year, topped only by l LeBron (seven) and CP3 (six).

  Not one “Player of the Game.’’ Three of them. There’s your statement, and it could only have been topped had the Mavs flagship station selected as “Player of the Game’’ the entire team.  

  DONUT 3: DB.com’s Trey Fallon read between Rick Carlisle’s shootaround lines and made the call: We would see some Ryan Hollins against Yao Ming.

   That AngryTrey! Worth every penny I pay him! ;)

   Hollins, the 7-foot member of the LIBB, got 12 explosive minutes. Brandon Bass also played some center, getting 25 minutes while sometimes replacing the ineffective Erick Dampier. Result? Yao Ming, who’d scored 19 in the first half, was held scoreless for the final 21 minutes of the game.

   Said Bass of wrasslin’ with people like Yao: “You need legs, body, heart, guards, everything when you go up against those guys."

    Another scary (literally) weapon for the Rockets, Ron Artest, played shutout first-half defense on Josh Howard but was otherwise rendered meaningless, with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. (Props to J-Kidd there; he refused to be bullied by Ron-Ron, which may have made the Rox lunatic even more Crazy Pills.)

   And in the end, the Mavs – big and small, predictable and “secret weapon’’ – held Houston below 90 points. That’s the 14^th time Dallas has accomplished that feat this year.

   Take this as a playoff teaser if you wish; you know, in the playoffs the games tend to be more grind-it-out and low-scoring. But Dallas’ record in those is …14-0.

  DONUT 4: The Mavs’ penchant for falling behind big. … and then staying there. … seems a distant memory.

   Consider this comeback, and the circumstances: The Mavs were down 14 in the third quarter. It was happening against a team of such quality that it might be worthy of being the No. 2 seed in one of the toughest conferences in the history of sports. (Yes, really. History Of Sports.) And heck. … sixth-place. … seventh-place. … what’s the big deal?

   But THIS Mavs team – the one judged on a longer term than just one recent game against lowly Memphis (a loss) or Monday’s game against lowly Minny (a win)? It’s developed some balls.

   A neat example of this comes from that third quarter, when the Mavs launched their bounce back. They got six points from Dirk (naturally). They got four points from Ryan Hollins. (Unnaturally.)

  And Josh Howard – a game-time decision with that balky ankle – did the rest, scoring 13 points in the quarter (and just two the rest of the game) by slicing his way to the hole. He “Artested’’ Artest, attacking, attacking, and getting to the foul line.

   “He had a tough start," said Carlisle of Josh. "I was just hoping that (Kidd) would find a way to get him into the game. He hit the one jumper (early in the third) and then we finally started to get some stops, and when we get some stops the ball gets up the court that's his dimension and he makes great things happen. It led to one trip to the line, and another, and another. …’’  

   And by the time the comeback is over, J-Ho is limping noticeably. But he has eight trips to the free-throw line in that quarter. And he and Kidd both made that happen.

  DONUT 5: And then there was the final push, when so often this year it’s been Kidd Time.

  I’m quite certain that part of Dallas’ nightly gameplan is to make sure to keep the game in range for 43 minutes or so. … because in a shortened five-minute game, few NBA players are better at orchestrating victory than Jason Kidd.

   And it happened again here.

  The game was tied 80-80 with 4:47 to go in the fourth quarter. There were a number of take-over-the-game candidates, including Yao and Artest.

   But Kidd was the successful candidate, quarterbacking the Mavs to a 15-4 run to close the night.

   DONUT 6: Since starting the season 0-4 at the AAC, the Mavs are 32-5 at home. At the AAC they are 15-1 at home since the All-Star Break. I know I promised I wouldn’t look ahead too much but. … If the Mavs can steal one this weekend in SA, the record says Dallas might be awfully tough to beat at the AAC.

   DONUT 7: MEDIA ALERT: We do “FISH on ESPN’’ on Thursday night at 7:40 as I check in with Choppy & Greggo on “GameNight’’ on 103.3. And I do it again at noon on Friday when I’m in studio at ESPN with Wally and Nate Newton (subbing on The Michael Irvin Show) for a full hour of FISH on ESPN.

   Also, as always, we’ve got a skillion updates a day at twitter.com/fishsports, on Facebook and of course, right here on DB.com.

  DONUT 8: The Mavs’ 2-7 start?

  THAT should be about the last time we have to hear about THAT.

   The nine-game streak that needs to be discussed now is the 7-2 way Dallas finished the year. A 7-2 record that a) knocked Phoenix from contention and ruined their season, b) sent Utah reeling down to the No. 8 slot, c) sent New Orleans stumbling down to the No. 7 slot, d) featured last-second wins over Miami and Minny, and e) handed Houston its only loss in its final six games and pushed the Rockets from having a shot at No. 2 to having to settle for No. 5.

   “The playoffs start tonight!’’ Mavs owner Mark Cuban said before the game, and if I may correct him:

   For the Mavs, the playoffs started nine games ago. And in those nine games, the Mavs have won seven “playoffesque’’ games.

  DONUT 9: Quote of the Night: “We’re as confident as we’ve been all season.” – Dirk Nowitzki.

  DONUT 10: We reported that Dallas was to take Tuesday off – no practice, no nothin’ – and we wondered whether it was a psyche-building exercise by the coach. You know, “We’re good, we’re rollin’, take the day off, we’ll be fine.’’

   Next thing you know, Mavs slap around the top-tier Houston Rockets.

   If you agree with our psyche view, it will not surprise you when we tell you what coaches have planned for the players on Thursday.

    No practice. No nothin’.

  DONUT 11: OK, let’s get to the “elite’’ thing.

  That’s the word Carlisle used in his postgame wrapup, when he addressed the team’s knowledge of the chance to go 9X50.

  “Coming into the game with the opportunity to win 50, (there were) a lot of questions about running it to a ninth straight year that it would symbolize that this franchise is still an elite franchise," Carlisle said. “This would be an elite franchise anyway.’’

    I see his point. It might be an “elite’’ franchise’’ … but it would be more difficult to claim that this is an “elite team’’ had it broken the eight-year streak or been seeded seventh or entered the playoffs on the sour note of having lost the home finale. As it is? The Mavs get a chance to prove they are as “elite’’ as anybody in the West not named “the Lakers.’’

  Said Carlisle: “It's good to have momentum going into the playoffs. It doesn't guarantee anything but I really feel like it's good for our team to be winning heading in."

   It feels good. It feels elite.

  DONUT 12: As part of the celebration of Fan Appreciation Night at the AAC, crowd fave Jason Terry grabbed the pregame microphone.

    "This year was a great season, and I promise you one thing,’’ Jet said. “The best is yet to come."