The Mavericks didn't have to look very hard to find the theme for Saturday night's revival and the coming stretch of games.

It was written in bold letters on the board in the locker room.

"Earn it. Expect it. Energy. No Excuses (complaining). Eliminating the same Errors. Engage (communicate)."

The Mavericks' season-long promotional campaign may be, "It's all about the D." But on this night, it was the E-words that counted.

Avery Johnson's message got through loud and clear as the Mavericks had their most enthusiastic night in weeks, evicting the Utah Jazz from American Airlines Center with a 125-117 win.

Clearly, it was not all about the "D."

But the offensive end of the court was a thing of beauty. The Mavericks got a career-best 47 points and 10 rebounds from Josh Howard, who put on a dazzling back-and-forth duel with Utah's Deron Williams, the local lad from The Colony, who had a career high himself with 41 points.

"There were a lot of career highs tonight," said Devin Harris, who had one with a dozen assists.

The bottom line was the Mavericks needed a victory any way they could get one, and if it meant shooting 59.7 percent (which actually was less than Utah's 60.5), so be it.

Saturday started with Avery Johnson throwing down what he said were "short-term challenges" to his team. Though nobody was divulging what those challenges were, it was clear in the locker room that it has to do with stringing together wins this week as the Mavericks faced a tough, but possibly fatigued Utah team that lost in San Antonio on Friday. Now, the Mavericks hit the road for three of the next four games.

AP

Mavericks forward Josh Howard drives past Utah's Jason Hart.

"I like that we actually won the game by any means necessary because they were challenged pretty strongly today," Johnson said. "They were challenged in a way that really appealed to their pride. We weren't great. But we wanted to just win the game."

And as for those short-term challenges?

"We met most of them offensively," he said. "We didn't meet many of them defensively. But the energy was really high."

In addition to the "E" words on the pregame board, there was another message: "We [you] start tonight."

That was another signal that the Mavericks were drawing a line on the schedule after 20 games and that their road back from consecutive losses and a 3-6 stretch was at mile marker No. 1.

But it was a wild and crazy night. In addition to Howard and Williams lighting it up, Erick Dampier had 21 points, easily his season high.

And yet, the Mavericks were only up, 112-110, with 3:40 to play. That's when Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper, and Carlos Boozer had a rare miss for the Jazz. The Mavericks pulled ahead, 119-113, then Howard tossed the dagger in the visitors' hearts.

With the shot clock fading out, he pulled up and swished a jumper with 1:28 to go for an eight-point lead. Matt Harpring, who had a hand in Howard's face, just rolled his eyes skyward as if to say, "What else can I do?"

"I was just confident," Howard said. "It was the last second, and I had to get a shot off. I knew they were playing me for the drive, so I just rose up."

It was that kind of night. As long as the conversation was confined to the offensive end, it was an exuberant night for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks' Josh Howard (47 points) and Utah's Deron Williams (41) of The Colony each set career highs for points in a game Saturday night: