OAKLAND, Calif. – At the Mavericks' morning walk-through on Tuesday, Austin Croshere was greeted with surprising news on his birthday.

Coach Avery Johnson took him off of the second team at the shootaround.

No, he wasn't getting a birthday promotion. He was being demoted to the third team.

"So I actually thought there was less of a chance," he said about playing in Game 5. "Maybe that's a good thing."

There's no maybe about it. Croshere played 12 clutch minutes and hit 3-of-4 3-point shots for nine points.

"He wasn't putting me in there for my defense," Croshere said. "I decided that if I got a good look, I was going to take it."

Croshere's first shot went through the net. "That always helps a lot," he said.

But there's another reason why his shot looked better and got better results.

"My shot's been a little too flat all year," Croshere said. "I've been releasing it too low and it's something I've been working on. And it's kind of starting to click. When you get some to drop in the game, it definitely helps."

Johnson said he was looking for some offense from Croshere to help alleviate a void on the Mavericks' bench. Aside from Jerry Stackhouse, they have had very little punch in support of the starters.

"I needed somebody who could make a shot coming off the bench," Johnson said. "We just can't put all the weight on Stack coming off the bench. And he [Croshere] is capable of making shots. And fortunately last night, he made three big ones."

Getting acclimated: In an odd twist, the Golden State Warriors stayed behind and practiced in Dallas on Wednesday morning, then flew home to Oakland.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, flew to the Bay Area, then had a shooting-based workout at Oracle Arena.

"Last time we came here, we got here later," Johnson said. "[We] just wanted to get here and shoot a little bit. This is a place where we're having our biggest game of the season, so let's get here and get a good feeling about it again."

The Warriors have a raucous crowd behind them and the home-court advantage figures to be strong tonight. But the Mavericks have been there before, Josh Howard said.

"It's just one of the many," he said. "It's a loud fan base, like Sacramento was. It's something you adjust to. I don't think that's a factor. I just think we need to play our game."

Get your free tickets: The Mavericks, along with the NBA, are making 100 upper-level tickets to a potential Game 7 available free to fans through an online promotion at mavs.com.

If necessary, Game 7 of the first-round series against Golden State will be Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Fans who live within 75 miles of American Airlines Center are eligible to register until 2 a.m. Friday. Winners, who will receive a pair of tickets, will be selected through a random drawing and notified by e-mail by 6 p.m. Friday. A valid ID will have to be shown to claim tickets between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, visit mavs.com.