By John Mcfarland
The Associated Press

DALLAS - Scoring never has been the problem for the Dallas Mavericks. They've been doing that for the past few years with Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash.

It was poor defense that kept the Mavs from getting past their rivals in the Western Conference.

This season is much different. The Mavericks are 11-0, and defense is a big reason. They held the Los Angeles Lakers to just 31 percent in Tuesday night's 98-72 victory.

"We're feeling pretty good about the defensive end right now," coach Don Nelson said Wednesday.

Heading into Thursday's game against Houston - whose 1993-94 team shares the NBA record for best start at 15-0 with the 1948-49 Washington Capitols - The Mavericks rank fifth in scoring defense (87.5 points per game), third in rebounds (45.7) and fifth in steals (9.2).

"Guys aren't playing with their hands down by their sides," backup point guard Avery Johnson said. "Guys are playing physical, and we're giving hard fouls."

It's a remarkable turnaround from last year, when the Mavs allowed a league-worst 101 points a game. They led the league in scoring and won 57 games, then watched the Sacramento Kings score at will and eliminate them 4-1 in the second round of the playoffs.

The Mavericks worked hard on defense during the preseason. They didn't run any offensive plays in the first week of camp, just defensive drills. They stressed rebounding, steals and drawing offensive fouls. And defensive assistant Del Harris installed a zone defense that has nine different looks.

Most important, Harris said, the Mavericks' high-scoring trio bought into the emphasis on defense.

"The big three are the most improved, and that's why our team is better," Harris said. "They have seen to it that they do everything that they can to play better defense, and it's working."

"We're all taking pride," said Finley, who along with Bradley has the longest tenure in Dallas and remembers the 16- and 19-win seasons of the not-too-distant past. "As one of the leaders of this team, when they see me taking it seriously it kind of funnels down to them as well."

And the defensive possibilities have been intriguing to Nelson, known as a bit of a mad scientist on the offensive end.

"The zones are new to him, but he's excited about it," Harris said. "He has fun with them. He and I will fiddle around with it, and it's a whole new world for him."

At the heart of the defense is Shawn Bradley, the 7-foot-6 center who spent most of last season parked on the bench with frequent fouls and open criticism from Nelson.

"He's taken a miserable year and he's put it behind him, and he's gone on and done something about it," Nelson said. "Every game he's bringing something to the table, whether it's rebounding or scoring. He makes our zones definitely very good defensively."

Bradley is averaging 10.1 points and 8.6 rebounds, one season after setting career lows with 4.1 points, 3.3 points and 14.3 minutes a game. He's hustling and staying out of foul trouble, with no pouting when a call goes against him.

"He's pretty much the difference for us being so successful right now," Nowitzki said. "He's been dominating in the middle. If he continues to play like that, I think we'll be a factor in the playoffs."

The Mavericks have never needed huge production from Bradley, just something productive. Over the past three years, the Mavs have won 21 straight when Bradley records a double-double.

"It was a combination of working with a new strength guy and a new conditioning guy, and just putting together some consistency through the summer," Bradley said of his improved play.

Despite the defensive focus, the Mavericks haven't suddenly turned into the grind-it-out New York Knicks of the early 1990s. They're second in the league at 103 points per game, with Nowitzki averaging 21.8 points, Finley scoring 19.4 and Nash getting 18.1.

Most amazing about the Mavericks' unbeaten streak is the fact that they've put it together without several key players: Starting center Raef LaFrentz has missed nine games with a sprained right ankle; backup point guard Nick Van Exel has missed five games after tearing cartilage in his right knee; and rebounding and defensive specialist Popeye Jones (back spasms) has yet to play since being signed in the offseason.

The Rockets are glad to take their shot at ending the Mavs' streak.

"It's the type of game you really look forward to," Houston forward Maurice Taylor said. "We were kind of hoping for the Lakers to lose so when we came in there, it would mean that much more. We want to break it. We didn't want the Lakers to break it."

The Mavs aren't too worried.

"We know that the streak is going to end at one point, but then we'll just have to start a new one," Nowitzki said.