As unsavory as the thought of a first-round series against Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets seemed for nearly three quarters Wednesday night, another possibility probably sounded worse to the Mavericks.

Kobe Bryant.

So they avoided the player who has whacked them for 62 and 51 points in the past, opting instead for a Bourbon Street Brawl.

The Mavericks will start the playoffs Saturday in New Orleans (6 p.m. ESPN) against a Hornets team they pounded in the second half for a 111-98 victory in the regular-season finale.

An American Airlines Center crowd that had booed the Mavericks when they fell behind, 72-61, was rip-roaring after a 30-6 Dallas run to let everybody know that a somewhat underwhelming regular season can now be forgotten.

The Mavericks, who finished the season 51-31, are as ready as they'll ever be for the playoffs. Jason Kidd's 100th career triple-double stoked the Mavericks to a stirring second-half rally.

They enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, which they locked up with the victory. New Orleans had clinched the second seed Tuesday night. Had the Mavericks lost to the Hornets and Denver beaten Memphis, they would have started in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

As it is, the Mavericks will enter the best-of-7 series as significant underdogs. They also will be fighting the ghosts of the last two seasons, when they lost heartbreakers in the NBA Finals to Miami in 2006 and in a stunning upset in the first round to Golden State last season.

"It's time to hoop," Dirk Nowitzki said. "And the underdog is not a bad role to be in."

The Mavericks and Hornets split the season series 2-2, each protecting their home court. Both sides could extract some confidence coming out of the finale. With Paul, the MVP candidate confounding the Mavericks, the Hornets were dominant at times in building a nice lead in a hostile arena.

Not until Paul picked up three fouls in under two minutes late in the third quarter did the Mavs seize the lead.

But they did seize it, then held strong to the finish. But as far as sending any strong messages, that won't be known until the series evolves.

"It's not going to be easy for either one of us," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "Hopefully, the good guys will win."

There were encouraging signs Wednesday. Nowitzki and Josh Howard combined to shoot 10-for-36. But the Mavericks still won behind 30 points from Jason Terry and 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists from Kidd, not to mention a double-double from Brandon Bass (13 points, 12 rebounds).

Jerry Stackhouse returned from a groin injury and played 16 minutes with no physical problems, another positive.

But winning with a subpar game from Nowitzki? That's something that hasn't happened often enough in the playoffs.

"As long as Kidd and Jet and Josh [Howard] and Stack make the defense pay, it will loosen up a little more for Dirk to get some production," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "But for us to win a game with Dirk going 4-for-16 and Josh going 6-for-20, I thought it [would have been] a bad dream."Kidd gets triple-double