NEW ORLEANS — The Mavericks’ impressive victory — dare we say signature win? — over the Lakers on Sunday was only minutes old when coach Rick Carlisle framed the outcome into its proper context.

He didn’t downplay it. That would have been disingenuous.

“It means that we had a good day,” he said. “We did a lot of good things. But we’re going to stay humble. We move on to another hard game on Tuesday on national TV.”

Of course, if it hadn’t been a momentous win there would be no reason to think about remaining humble. In his own way, Carlisle was calling the win meaningful without bragging.

As the Mavericks (13-6) already have learned this season, great wins are diluted by bad losses, for instance to the Knicks. Twice.

The second-most striking aspect of Sunday’s 114-100 win over the previously 17-2 Lakers, after the victory itself, was the collective reaction in the Mavericks’ locker room.

There was no hint of celebrating. Players were upbeat, but in a business-like way.

Their disposition was been there, done that, never mind that this franchise hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016. And never mind that of the seven players on the roster who have appeared in playoff games, only two of whom did so as Mavs: J.J. Barea and Dwight Powell.

“Teams like this are only going to get better as the season goes on,” said Powell, referring to the Lakers. “We need to make sure we’re getting better as well.

“We have some big goals,” he added. “We haven’t made the playoffs in a couple of years. Once you get there, there’s a whole other set of things we have to focus on. We’re trying to have the best record possible and maximize our potential and prepare ourselves for that.”

The Mavericks will reach the season’s virtual one-fourth mark on Tuesday night when they face New Orleans in the third and last game of this road trip that has started 2-0.

A victory over the Pelicans (6-14) would put the Mavericks on a 56-victory pace, a considerable increase over their consensus preseason over-under line of 40.5 and yours truly’s 42-win projection.

Then again, those prognostications looked silly well before the win over the Lakers, whose coach, Frank Vogel, summed up the Mavericks this way: “We predicted they were a playoff team the first time we played them early in the season. They’ve so far proven me to be right in that regard.”

While winning seven of its last eight games, including consecutive Sunday 14-point wins at Houston and at the Lakers, Dallas has averaged 122.8 points to their opponents’ 107.1.

Granted those numbers were enhanced by the 48-point win over Golden State and 42-point victory over Cleveland, but this eight-game run also includes a win over Toronto and a 15-point loss to the Clippers.

“Make the playoffs?” a seemingly incredulous Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted Monday, in response to a story that evaluated the Mavericks’ playoff chances. “They are one of the best teams in the @NBA.”

Make the playoffs? They are one of the best teams in the @NBA — Daryl Morey (@dmorey) December 2, 2019

If Carlisle has any concerns about his team over-basking after the Lakers win, he needs only to point to a schedule that, beginning Tuesday night, has Dallas playing four games in six days.

That includes a pair of back-to-backs, which means that Kristaps Porzingis, who sat out the second game of Dallas’ only back-to-back to date, could miss one or perhaps two of the four games.

Adding to the challenge of Tuesday night’s game, Carlisle said, is the fact that it is airing on TNT, and it’s coming on the heels of a high-profile Dallas win.

“Every time we have a game like this, people are more than ever throwing their best game at us,” Carlisle said. “There’s a certain responsibility you have when you get on a roll like this.

“We’ve just got to understand it, keep our eye on the ball, stay focused, stay humble and stick together. That’s what it’s all about.”