I don't think this is hyperbole ... even though I'm writing this just minutes after Dallas' win.

The Mavs knock off Portland on the road, which makes two straight wins against two Western Conference teams with winning records, within 24 hours of each other. That's impressive.

The Mavericks seem to have Portland figured out. The Blazers have now lost 6 times at home all year -- two to the Mavs. Dallas also swept the 3-game season series. Part of me wants to think this means the Mavs have Portland's number, like how Golden State matched up well with Dallas a couple years ago even though they were the 8th seed. But another part of me doesn't want to rain on this parade, because this is a HUGE win for Dallas. Winning against a playoff-calibur Western Confernce team on the road is something that doesn't need qualifiers, and certainly something that should not be apologized for.

For weeks, maybe months, we've had this question: Just what exactly is this team? For the last few weeks, I've thought the answer was this: they are what they are. They beat the bad teams and lose to the good teams, generally speaking. But this win in Portland changes the thinking. This win makes me think back to the beginning of the season, when Dallas began with a 2-7 record and fans thought they were terrible. Then, over the next few months, they put themselves in the 7-8-9 spot in the Western Conference standings, and we thought this was a team that will probably makes the playoffs and then lose in the first round. This win is the kind of win that makes us take a second look at this team, the kind of win that gives fans hope.

I didn't go back and look at the entire schedule and think too much about it, but these are the reasons why I think tonight's win was the biggest of the season for the Mavs.

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