MAVS-KINGS Defense has been offensive in series

The Kings' Chris Webber is expected to miss the remainder of the playoffs.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The scorekeepers might be worn out, but the score is even: The Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings each have one convincing victory and one humiliating defeat in their track meet of a series.
With back-to-back games in the Western Conference semifinals coming up this weekend, the teams spent Friday catching their breath.
They needed every spare moment to recover from two of the most remarkable offensive performances in recent playoff history -- and two of the worst defensive games ever by title-contending teams.
"There's not a lot of defense going on out there," Kings guard Jim Jackson said. "It's kind of like the old ABA. We need to change that, though. It'll be a lot harder to win this series if we keep playing this way."
The Kings opened the best-of-seven series with a 124-113 victory, beating the Mavericks for the eighth time in 10 meetings over the last year. Dallas shook it off for a 132-110 victory in Game 2, which included an 83-point first half for the revitalized Mavs.
Encore
So what can the teams possibly do for an encore at Arco Arena? Both coaches would like to see a bit of defense, and the Mavericks are hoping to have purged their inferiority complex when comparing themselves to the Kings.
Sacramento simply is hoping to have a healthy lineup -- and to forget Game 2 ever happened.
"The best thing about the playoffs is that game's over with, and you've got another one tomorrow," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "I choose to say we got the split in Dallas, and we'll forget about how we got it."
Chris Webber, the Kings' leading scorer and rebounder, is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs because of torn cartilage in his left knee. Bobby Jackson, the NBA's top sixth man, plans to play without a face mask in Game 3 despite breaking his cheekbone on Thursday night.
Sacramento allowed a staggering 245 points in the first two games. The Kings have made significant improvements to their defense over the past two seasons, even landing guard Doug Christie on the All-Defensive team, but Game 2 recalled the defense-free Sacramento teams of seasons past.
Defense
The Kings all spoke of the need for more defense -- but of course, their best defense has always been their overpowering offense.
"I know I'm going to come out more aggressive tomorrow than I've been in the playoffs so far," Mike Bibby said. "I'm not helping my team as much as I should. I've got to do more at both ends of the court. We all do."
Though the Kings added defense-minded players in the offseason who would seem to match up well with Dirk Nowitzki and Nick Van Exel, Keon Clark and Jim Jackson were not effective in slowing the Mavs' biggest threats.
Van Exel repeatedly told his teammates to stop praising the Kings -- and even his coach listened.
"I got to thinking how right he was, and to go out there and to stop thinking how good they are and to start thinking how good we are," Don Nelson said. "We are a pretty darn good team, too."
The Mavs' talent could be too much if the Kings are without Webber.
One of the NBA's most fragile superstars, Webber incurred his second injury of the playoffs and his fifth of the season. After tweaking his lower back in Game 2 of the last series against Utah, Webber hurt his troublesome left knee in the third quarter Thursday while running to catch a lob pass.