DALLAS _ Harrison Barnes just might be the answer Mark Cuban was looking for.
With Cuban at a loss to compare his team's plight with other losing stretches of his ownership era, Barnes poured in a career-high 34 points as the Mavericks (1-5) finally got over the hump in the win column with an 86-75 overtime win Sunday over Milwaukee at American Airlines Center.
"This was just a case of outlasting an opponent," coach Rick Carlisle said. "On defense, we were great. You look at the whole game and we had a plan-we got down early-but we stuck with it.
"We made these guys beat us in half court game and these games can be ugly. But in our situation right now, it's what we have to do to win games."
It's a much needed win for a Mavs team struggling mightily as it heads out on a pivotal four-game, coast-to-coast road trip that includes Tuesday's game with the Lakers in Los Angeles followed by matchups with Golden State, the Knicks and then Celtics.
"Obviously we're struggling and it's driving me nuts," Cuban said. "We've had patches like this before, but never at the start of the season.
"It's hard to compare because the league is so different than it was just last year. A lot of teams tend to start well and then peter off while others start slow and then really come on. I'm hoping we're the latter."
Barnes' performance Sunday, in which he spurred a second quarter comeback as well as a final run to get the game to overtime, will be the measuring stick over the next stretch.
The potential of spotting the NBA 10 games is not a recipe for playoff success come next April, but certainly was and still is a reality as Carlisle tries to pilot Dallas through turbulent times.
In trying to right the ship against the Bucks (4-3), Barnes showed why his production is a must-have for the immediate future.
With three critical buckets in the closing stretch, Barnes helped the Mavericks to a 15-10 run to close regulation and get the game to overtime at 74-74.
He had the opening basket in OT and the Dallas regulars followed suit and never looked back.
Barnes' jumper at the 3:27 mark of the second quarter tied things up at 39-39 after Dallas fell behind by as much as 13 points.
Point guard J.J. Barea (21 points), who started in place of the injured Deron Williams, knocked down a three-pointer at the 3:05 mark to give the Mavs their first lead of the game at 42-39.
That sparked Dallas to a 14-0 run to close out the second quarter and a 47-39 lead.
Milwaukee had seven missed field goals in that run and the Mavs stretched the lead early in the third quarter.
The Bucks rallied in the third, clawing back to within three.
Forward Jabari Parker had 16 points and Greg Monroe had 14 to lead Milwaukee.
Barnes production, though, will be key as Dirk Nowitzki is out indefinitely with a sore Achilles as well as Williams.
Carlisle said he hoped Williams injury isn't more serious.
Andrew Bogut, coming off personal leave from Friday night, had 16 rebounds for Dallas.
