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Whether they make 'em or they miss 'em, the Dallas Mavericks are going to launch 3-pointers throughout the entire game. In their first meeting this season, the Mavericks nailed 10-of-16 three-point shots to help in a 102-86 win over the Detroit Pistons in Dallas. The rematch is today at The Palace and the Pistons are prepared. "What it does is put so much pressure on you and (Dirk) Nowitzki is such a big part of that because it changes how you guard him, too. He creates for other people,'' Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "In the last game, they jumped on us. Our second unit brought us back a little and we hung around and then they bombed a bunch of threes.'' Against the Boston Celtics on Friday night, the Mavericks made just four 3-pointers, but they didn't hesitate to keep firing. By the time the game was over, the Mavericks had put up 22 shots from long distance in a 96-90 loss.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak by the Mavericks while the Pistons, after losing three in a row, have now won four straight themselves. Getting No. 5 isn't going to be easy, but Detroit's Rasheed Wallace believes he has the answer for the Mavs."We've got to put 'em in the hole,'' Wallace said. "We got our (butt) kicked (in the first game), there's no way to sugarcoat it. We've got to come out (today) and slow that stuff down. They had a lot of mismatches as far as guys not used to guarding wing people. We have to take advantage of it on the other end -- they don't have anybody used to guarding post-up players. We have to run a lot of post plays and force them to double and that'll open it up on the outside.'' While the Pistons have the flexibility to score inside and out, the Mavericks are going to live on the perimeter. "They've got so many shooters -- so many shooters -- that they can hurt you in so many different ways,'' Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. "They're not really a post-up team, but they've got enough shooters and they've got enough plays that they can get their shooters in the right position.''

The Mavericks are going to be undermanned for Sunday's game. Starting point guard Devin Harris is out with an ankle injury and backup guard Jerry Stackhouse (right hamstring) is questionable."You're taking a good player out and it's depleting your bench. Your bench isn't as dynamic. That's the biggest thing it does,'' Saunders said of the loss of Harris. "I think they're better with (Harris) because he's so fast and quick. He turns the corner and gets other guys shots,'' Billups said. "(Harris' replacement) Jason Terry is just as good as anybody out there, he's a scoring point guard and he's good at pick and rolls. You have to play him with your best effort, but they're just not as deep.'' While Nowitzki, who averages 22.5 points per game, will get the bulk of the Pistons' attention, it's the role players and guys coming off the bench that create the most headaches. In the first meeting with Detroit, Terry and Stackhouse had 15 points each coming off the bench, including a combined 6-of-7 shooting from the three-point line."Josh Howard always plays great and when Stackhouse gets 12 or 14 points off the bench and Eddie Jones gets his and Jason Terry, who's usually coming off the bench ... that's what hurts you,'' Billups said. "It's not when Dirk gets 25, it's when everybody else (scores).''

The skinny: The Mavs are fighting for the best record in the West and come to town at 31-14, but Dallas has one of the league