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Mavs step up in 103-90 win; Walker speaks up afterward

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Things are so bad for the Mavericks that they came home from a disgraceful 0-3 road trip and their situation got even worse -- if not with their record, then certainly in the locker room.

Antoine Walker questioned his role on the team after playing just 18 minutes in a 103-90 thumping of the Phoenix Suns Monday night. The victory became hollow as much for the post-game scene as the fact that the Suns are the worst team in the Western Conference.

“It’s tough to do anything in 18 minutes,’’ Walker said. “This is the first time I’ve dealt with this in my eight-year career. I can’t give you what you want in 18 minutes. It’s not going to happen. It’s not in my makeup.

“I have to be able to play.’’

Walker has seen his playing time dwindle in March. He averaged only 24.7 minutes on the three-game road trip and Monday’s game, in which he had eight rebounds and six points but made just 2 of 9 shots, pushed him over the edge.

“To be honest, it’s been a tough year since I got traded,’’ Walker said. “I’m happy we stopped the bleeding and I’m happy the team is 16 or 18 games over .500. But we’re a deep team and I know some guys are going to suffer.’’

Walker refused to say he’s in a slump, even though he’s shooting 27 percent in five games in March. Asked if he could pull his game together in the rest of the regular season, Walker said: “I couldn’t give you a straight answer. I just want to get through these 19 games and then the playoffs start. I refuse to have controversy around me.’’

It may be too late for that. On Monday, Eduardo Najera had his best game of the season with eight points and nine rebounds. Antawn Jamison was strong off the bench and Josh Howard was active. Those three players received the bulk of the playing time outside of the core players.

Don Nelson said he would not respond to Walker’s outburst. However, before Walker’s comments, the coach said the 6-9 forward has left him no choice but to look to other players.

“He’s not playing well and we can’t fool around with only 20 games left,’’ Nelson said. “It’s the same with anybody. He just happens to be the guy not playing well right now.

“He’ll play his way out of it, no question. He’s en a slump right now and when you’re in a slump, you just use hard work to get out of it. We’ll figure it out together.’’

Walker, who has averaged 7.8 points in the last five games, was averaging 18.2 points on Dec. 15. After Monday’s game, he’d seen his scoring drop to a season-low 14.8 points.

While teammates could sympathize with Walker’s struggles, they also were quick to point out that, after snapping a three-game losing streak and with eight of the next 10 games on the road, the timing of this distraction is not good.

“We’re a deep team and we’re in a situation now where we can’t afford to drop games,’’ said Steve Nash, himself limited to 25 minutes Monday. “All you can do is play as hard as you can when you’re in the game and be happy with the contributions you can make in the end.’’

Dirk Nowitzki, who led the way with 26 points, said: “This is the wrong time to be putting your head down.’’