Maybe the Mavs forgot to show up. Or maybe the Nets just decided they felt like playing basketball earlier tonight. Whatever the reason or combo for better term, the East’s eighth best team cruised past one of the West’s elite on their home floor by posting a 101-82 victory.

The Nets turned an 11-point second quarter deficit into a six-point halftime lead as Vince Carter returned from taking a hard elbow to the head by playing some of his most inspired ball of a disappointing season- netting 25 of a game best 29 after coming back from the locker room.

“This is the performance we want,” a pleased Vincesanity expressed to the Associated Press after the Nets’ second straight win.

“I still think we can do it. We definitely think we’re capable. It’s great to have this kind of performance against a team like that to reassure ourselves that we’re a pretty good team. Hopefully we can build off this and continue to do the job each and every night.“

When Carter collided with Mavs’ forward Brandon Bass, he stayed down on the floor for a couple of minutes before being helped back to the bench by Net trainer Tim Walsh.

“I saw stars, stripes, everything,” Carter acknowledged. “It’s one of those things you see coming but you can’t move fast enough. When he hit me, I was just trying to hold on and not hit the floor too hard. I was a little dizzy and tried to take my time getting up. I was a little sore but I just wanted to clear my head and go back out there.”

Maybe it woke him up because he helped ignite the Nets on a 20-4 run to end the half which included a nifty reverse lay-in. The Mavs never recovered allowing a resurgent Lawrence Frank club to run off 21 unanswered falling behind by as many as 19.

“That’s the NBA,” said the much rumored Jason Kidd, who followed up his league-leading 12th triple double with a solid 13-point, 14 assist, six rebound performance.

“Anybody can be beaten on any give night, no matter what your record is. We beat a very good in Dallas and we lost to the worst team. You just work to get better every time you take the floor.“

The Nets also got more encouraging news as starting center Nenad Krstic finished with eight points and eight boards in 17+ minutes for his most productive game since returning at the start of the month.

Rookie big man Sean Williams came off the bench chipping in 15 on six-of-eight from the floor with seven rebounds and two blocks.

At 22-29, the Nets are now a game better than both the 76ers and Pacers for the final playoff berth with 31 games remaining. The growing question is will they still have Kidd after the trade deadline passes? He could wind up with his first team, the Mavs or elsewhere if he gets his wish.

The Nets should have a much better record given what they have in Kidd, Carter and Richard Jefferson (19 pts, seven rebs, four assists). Can this team win with this trio intact? It’s already been proven that they can’t. So why retain Kidd? They may as well get what they can and begin the rebuilding process.

I just wonder if that’s in Rod Thorn’s vocabulary. Either way, we’re about to find out what the organization’s plan will be.

Nets look to go Wolf Hunting: The Nets host Minnesota Tuesday night looking to exact some revenge for a brutal three-point road loss in which they allowed the final 10 points, blowing a seven-point lead in the game’s final 75 seconds. They’ll also visit the Raptors Wednesday night before the All-Star Break. … Dirk Nowitzki paced the Mavs with 21 points, eight boards and four assists. … Dallas (34-16) fell to just 12-13 on the road as compared to their 22-3 home record.