DENVER -- Here's our second-chance points about the Mavericks' 107-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night, which closed out a 1-2 homestand.

Hitting a new gear: It's called reverse. The Mavericks have lost five of their last six games and they haven't been overly competitive in several of them. They have reverted to the sort of offensive form that sent them into a 2-14 hole to start the season. Their defense hasn't been terrible. But they haven't been able to score like they need to and that's made it virtually impossible to scratch out wins. The Mavericks have nine games left before the All-Star break and they are in danger of turning this season into a Bataan Death March before the break.

Bench woes: The Mavericks have had a terrific group of reserves most of the season, but lately that has not been the case. Devin Harris has missed the last three games with a concussion and will miss the Denver game Saturday for personal reasons. That's not why the bench has suffered. None of the backups are playing particularly well right now with the possible exception of Yogi Ferrell. Everybody else is in a funk. Actually, the starters are pretty much in a funk too.

Where is this guy? Ed Davis is not a big-time NBA player. He's been a decent backup big man most of his career and some would say he's fallen short of his potential. Not on Friday night, however. Davis had 13 rebounds to lead a ridiculous 54-37 board advantage for the Blazers. He also had 15 points and three blocked shots. This is exactly the kind of glass-kicker the Mavericks could use. The Mavericks had nobody with more than Harrison Barnes' seven rebounds.

Up next: The Mavericks actually are a respectable 3-5 on the second night of back-to-back games so far, but going to Denver and the mile-high altitude isn't an easy proposition.

Twitter: @ESefko