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The strategic elements to Friday night's victory were overshadowed by Dirk Nowitzki's brilliant performance.

A compelling storyline emerged that could land Josh Howard a reference in the next song by Amy Winehouse.

Compared to those two themes, the lineup change and defensive alterations made by the Mavericks in Game 3 barely rate a yawn. But you can be sure they caught the attention of the New Orleans Hornets.

Coaches and players on both sides downplayed the significance of inserting Jason Terry into the starting lineup for Jerry Stackhouse. All said the Mavericks' passion and physical approach had more to do with the 10-point victory than Terry checking Chris Paul, Erick Dampier hounding David West and Nowitzki shifting over to Tyson Chandler.

But the drop in offensive efficiency by the Hornets was so dramatic, the outcome and feel so different than what happened in New Orleans, that it had to have an impact.

"We knew they were going to do something different," New Orleans coach Byron Scott said. "I wasn't surprised by the change [Terry]. And I wasn't surprised defensively what they did with CP [Paul] to keep him out of the paint.

"It's just a matter of our guys making shots. That's the bottom line. We had open shots and just missed them."

New Orleans shot 37.9 percent from the field and, in the words of Scott, would have lost by 25 if Jannero Pargo hadn't gone off for 30 points. The Hornets scored 40 fewer points than they did in Game 2.

It started with the defense on Paul. Terry isn't as strong as Jason Kidd, but he's quicker. Having Terry open the game on Paul allowed Kidd to move to Morris Peterson and made it easier for the Mavericks point guard to cheat off his man and clog the passing lanes.

The Mavericks also made a fundamental shift in what they wanted to do with Paul in this game. If he burned them for 30 or more points, so be it. What they didn't want him to do was dissect their defense with his penetration and assists.

Paul had 17 assists in Game 2. The Mavs made a conscious decision to not let his teammates find a rhythm.

Other than Pargo, the strategy worked.

"He's such a handful," Terry said of Paul. "If you give him 30 points and 20 assists, you don't have a chance. Part of that is to try to stay in front of him and contest him, but at the same time, don't allow those other guys to kill you.

"Those 17 assists really hurt you and get everyone else involved. We've got to continue to stay focused and do the job in that department."

Dampier, meanwhile, was much more physical with West than Nowitzki was in the first two games. The move allowed Nowitzki an easier defensive matchup and put him closer to the basket, which helps explain his 19 rebounds.

The bottom line: Paul and West combined for 30 points and shot 26.3 percent from the field.

"They went under the screen with Paul, forced him to take jump shots, which he wasn't knocking down on a consistent basis," Scott said. "Neither was D-West.

"But I would hope those guys will get 30 or more shots on Sunday, because I just don't think between the two of them they will make 10. I think the amount they make Sunday will be a whole lot higher."

If not, the Hornets are in for another frustrating night.