By Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Shootaround Report: Timberwolves (7-10) at Mavericks (11-7)

DALLAS — A brief exchange of friendly words between the Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Terry and Minnesota Timberwolves guard J.J. Barea may have felt as awkward as it looked for the two former teammates.

With Barea signing a multi-year contract in the offseason to join the Wolves after his first five seasons in Dallas, the undersized combo guard immediately became Terry’s opposition. But before their teams go head-to-head Wednesday night for a second time this season, the two will share the court as last season’s championship squad is honored with a ring ceremony.

“That was cool,” Terry said after greeting Barea when the Mavs left the American Airlines Center court and the Wolves came on the hardwood for their pregame walkthrough. “A little 20 or 30 seconds of, ‘How you doing? How’s your family doing?’ Now, we’re ready to kick their [tails] tonight.”

“I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to finally get that ring,” Barea said, although he will not play due to ailing hamstring and ankle injuries. “I’m just gonna enjoy tonight. I wish I were playing, so I’d get to talk more and say hi to everybody.”

With Barea and retired forward Peja Stojakovic in the house to receive their rings, the Mavericks will try to avenge a 99-82 road loss to the Wolves on New Year’s Day. In the second matchup of a four-game homestand, the Mavs will also try not to be upstaged on their home floor as was the case in the team’s season-opening 105-94 loss to the Miami Heat on Christmas Day, when the champs were honored with a pregame banner ceremony.

“You know, we came out flat (against the Heat). And obviously they had more motivation than the Timberwolves will, but again, like I said, we just lost to them to start the new year. That was a bad feeling. They’re a team that’s young, they’ve been playing well and this is a big game for us. We’re trying to protect home court this week and keep moving in the right direction,” Terry explained.

“It’s a very nice event to have, but we understand that once the rings are presented there’s gonna be three minutes back on the clock for the teams to warm up after that. Then we’ve gotta wipe that out and get ready to compete against this team,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “‘Cause this team beat us pretty good last time, and they are a team that’s playing well on the road right now. So, you know, it’s gonna be a competitive game.”

Once again the Mavs will being competing shorthanded, however, with leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki (sore right knee) sitting out his third straight game and swingman Vince Carter (sprained left foot) sidelined for a fifth consecutive outing. And although Carlisle says he is concerned with slowing down budding star Ricky Rubio at the point, priority No. 1 will be stopping big man Kevin Love if the Mavs are going to win their fourth straight game overall and eighth straight at home.

Love totaled 25 points on 9-of-16 from the field and 5-for-6 from 3-point range to go along with 17 rebounds against the Mavs earlier in the month.

“[Love] is one of the top players in the game right now,” Carlisle said. “What he’s doing statistically is beyond belief. He’s playing 40 minutes a game, he’s averaging 15 rebounds, he’s scoring virtually anywhere on the floor and it’s the kind of job we can’t just assign to one guy. We’re gonna have a lot of guys on him all night long and we’ve gotta have a lot of help. And we’ve gotta keep him off the boards, ’cause that’s where he gets real easy baskets when he goes and gets it and lays it back in.”

Note: The Mavericks return to action in the second matchup of a four-game homestand Wednesday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves with a championship ring ceremony before the game. The Timberwolves-Mavericks game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.