Pinson scored 48 points in 148 minutes scattered over 19 games for Dallas in the regular season, but the Mavs don’t think it’s a coincidence that they snapped out of a slow start soon after Pinson’s arrival on a hardship 10-day contract. They consider him an integral part of their success, so much so that coach Jason Kidd was only half-kidding when he called Pinson the team’s MVP in early February. “He gave us something we didn’t have, and now he has a group over there,” Kidd said before Dallas’ closeout Game 6 win over Utah. “They’re all into the game from jump ball to the end. Win or lose, those guys are connected and the team is connected.”