The Dallas Mavericks are on a three game losing streak and the road will only get tougher for the next eight games. Tonight they host the Detroit Pistons, a team that resembles the same type of play of the Los Angeles Clippers, whom the Mavs lost to on Monday night. Losing three straight games is never easy for a team, but the Mavericks (33-31) are in need of a win, especially since they are on the brink of dropping out of the playoff race.
Against the Clippers (41-21) the Mavericks kept it close through two and a half quarters. It wasn’t until the 4:37 mark when the game was knotted up at 65 that the Mavs took a turn for the worse. Dallas would only score three more points to end the quarter while the Clippers, behind Chris Paul, would score 18 points in four minutes to close out the quarter.
DeAndre Jordan continued his success racking up another double-double with 23 points and 20 rebounds. Paul would drop 27 points, 18 of those came in the third quarter.
Dirk Nowitzki would lead the Mavericks with 22 points, while David Lee was the only other Mav in double figures with 13 points. The Mavericks max contract player Wesley Matthews, would finish the contest with a disappointing two points.
As a young and inexperienced Pistons (32-31) team enters the AAC they look to take advantage of a Mavericks team that is headed in the wrong direction. Andre Drummond will be the dominant force in the middle, similar to Jordan but without the “boos” of the crowd.
Zaza Pachulia we can expect will receive more minutes tonight as he is truly the Mavs only big man that can size up with the shot-blocking, rebounding machine and forceful dunker in Drummond. We can also expect the “hack-a-Drummond” at some point in the game as he is ranked last in qualified centers from the charity stripe, shooting 35%, even below Jordan.
Tonight is game two of this tough nine game stretch against teams with a winning record and the Mavericks sit at 9-21 this season against teams above .500. You can bet the Pistons will not be pushed over as they are a half game behind the Chicago Bulls (32-30) in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
This will be the first of two meeting between the teams this season.
How To Watch:
Tip-off starts at 7:30 CT on Fox Sports Southwest.
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