With loads of road games ahead, the Mavericks no doubt have plenty of back-alley brawls in their future.

So it was nice to get out of town with nothing more than a love tap. That's all it took against Seattle.

The SuperSonics may someday grow into their promising future. But they are arguably the easiest draw in the league these days as the Mavericks plastered them, 111-96, Saturday night at American Airlines Center. Their two victories over the Sonics in the last nine days have come by a combined 35 points.

Losers of 10 in a row, the Sonics were the equivalent of a goodbye kiss before the Mavericks left today for Washington and Charlotte.

But to the Mavericks' credit, they took care of business. They jumped ahead by double figures in the first quarter, led by 22 at the half and eased off the gas just enough after halftime to allow the score to get semi-respectable. It was their 12th consecutive win over the Sonics.

And it came with some solid contributions from players who came from far off the radar, most notably Trenton Hassell. He had fallen completely out of the rotation, seeing only 22 minutes of action in all of December. He did not play Monday in Sacramento.

But Avery Johnson said the swingman acquired from Minnesota before the season is now back in the mix. Hassell finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes.

"He's been practicing awfully hard," Johnson said. "And I really haven't given him what you'd call a real legitimate chance. If he played his worst game of the year, he was going to play again the next game."

Asked if he regretted not getting Hassell into the rotation sooner, Johnson said: "I don't regret anything. Devean George was in the rotation, then we went with eight men and nine men. But he [Hassell] is in it now. We'll give it a shot and see what happens."

Said George: "I guess I'm the odd man out for now."

The key words in that assessment are "for now."

Things can change in a hurry, as Hassell saw Saturday.

"I'd be glad to try to take advantage of it," Hassell said when told Johnson wants to give him an extended look in the rotation. "I know what my niche is here. It's to come in there, play defense and bring energy. No matter what, that's not going to change."

MICHAEL AINSWORTH / DMN

Dallas' Josh Howard (left) drives to the basket in the first half.

Hassell wasn't the only unexpected contributor.

DeSagana Diop had his best game in weeks with eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Hassell and Diop helped the Mavericks' bench to a huge night. But it wasn't like the starters were invisible. Dirk Nowitzki had an efficient 20-point, nine-rebound, six-assist night, and Devin Harris had 17 points and eight assists.

It was a fine way to get back into action after four days between games. By the end of the break, the team was more than ready to see somebody besides each other on the court.

"Now we'll be back in full gear," Johnson said. "We'll be off and running until the All-Star break."

The Mavericks clearly were not happy with the lingering aftertaste of a 122-120 loss at Sacramento on Monday. Sitting on that memory for four days, they came out strong defensively, shutting down the Sonics in the first half and holding Texas product and rookie of the year front-runner Kevin Durant to two points. He eventually would finish with six points – tying his season low – on 3-of-12 shooting.

The Mavericks have won five straight and 10 of 11 at home.

The bad news is that the road beckons. Six of their next eight games are away from AAC.