And it's not going to happen unless the Mavericks do their part and shove the Denver Nuggets into a dark place they normally don't like to be.

Namely, into a tight situation.

The Nuggets were average in close games this season, going 12-10 when the final margin was six points or fewer.

The Mavericks were 18-5 in such games.

That's all great, except that three of those losses came against the Nuggets, who won those regular-season games by a total of seven points.

Today, the Mavericks finally get a home game in their series with Denver, and while coach Rick Carlisle is always saying it guarantees nothing, that had better make a difference or the Mavericks will be on vacation sooner than later.

In the playoffs, the Nuggets have been nothing short of dominant. They won the first two games of this series by an average of 13 points. Before that, they had blown out everybody in the playoffs, except for one close game in the first round against New Orleans, which they lost.

The Mavericks would prefer a blowout in their favor, of course. But if that doesn't happen, making the Nuggets execute under pressure late in the game is the next-best option.

"We got to pick it up, no question," Carlisle said. "We need to play better. They've been a tough team to put pressure on throughout the whole playoffs. That's something that's got to change in Game 3.

"Home court certainly helps, but it's no guarantee. We're going to have to make it happen."

It won't be easy. When teams go up 2-0, as Denver has, they go on to win best-of-7 series 93 percent of the time.

Game time is 4 p.m., and by 4:15 Mavericks fans ought to know whether their team has taken this mission to heart. The first step toward making the Nuggets sweat is to pounce on them early in Game 3.

"We got to put some doubt in their minds and win this first game," Jason Terry said. "Come out, don't get behind early, make them have to play catch-up and see what happens. It's easy while you're winning and in front. We'll see what happens if we put a little pressure on them, handle our business and see what happens after that."

Most of these Mavericks have been on both sides of series that went the other way after a team jumped to a 2-0 lead. In 2005, Houston won the two opening games at American Airlines Center in the first round; then the Mavericks won two in Houston and went on to win the series in seven games.

The following year, the Mavericks went up 2-0 on Miami in the NBA Finals.

They lost the next four.

Coming home helps. But attitude will help more.

"Just like Cleveland out East, they haven't really been tested," said Mavericks assistant coach Mario Elie. "Those guys are playing with swagger, and you got to give them credit. It's up to us to knock them down a little bit."

The Mavericks haven't been able to do that through two games, collapsing in the fourth quarter twice in Denver.

There has been plenty of blame to pass around for the 2-0 hole. But it hasn't gone toward Dirk Nowitzki, who had 35 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2, even though he was at that point aware that the woman living in his house was under investigation for myriad suspicions.

Nobody in the organization is concerned about that situation affecting Nowitzki's play.

Least of all Nowitzki. He said if the Nuggets continue to use single coverage on him, he will continue to try to be a big scorer. If the double-teams come, he will facilitate the offense, as he did in the first round against San Antonio.

"At this point, I think I'm a better all-around player than I've ever been in my life," he said. "But at this point, the best thing I can do in a game, I think, is score. So I'm going to keep trying to score."

Road chill

The Nuggets were a markedly different team away from home during the regular season:

Home Category Road

33-8 Record 21-20

107.8 Points per game 100.9

100.7 Opp. points pg 101.2

.475 Shooting .465

.434 Opp. shooting .446

+3.1 Rebounding -0.3

16.7 J.R. Smith pts. 13.7

7.0 Chris Andersen pts. 5.7

5.0 Anthony Carter pts. 5.6

11.8 Linas Kleiza pts. 8.0

40.5 Reserves pts.* 33.0

*Total averages for top four reserves