The Mavs were able to wake up Christmas morning as winners of two straight games for just the second time this season.  Monday night in New Orleans, they’ll look to get make it three straight wins for the first time when they take on the Pelicans.

 

Following two nail-biting wins on the road in Portland/Los Angeles and the successful return of their superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas has their first real bit of “momentum” in the first third-and-then-some of this rough season so far.  The Mavs have now won three out of their last four games and inched their way out of the bottom of the standings.  As of Sunday night, Dallas is now in a three-way tie with the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves for the worst record in the Western Conference (9-21) but are a game and a half up on the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets (7-22) for the worst record in the NBA.

 

The Mavericks will face a team they’ve already defeated this season when they step on the court against the Pels on Monday night.  Dallas’ 91-81 home win over New Orleans back on November 27th was arguably a season-altering win.  They entered the game 2-13 and, including that win, have gone a respectable 7-8 since.  

 

Dallas rode a strong 4th quarter from Wes Matthews to push them over the finish line.  Matthews scored 12 of his 21 points in the final frame and finished with 21 points while shooting 6-8 from beyond the arc.  Not surprisingly, the Pelicans were led by a dominant performance by Anthony Davis.  The Brow finished with 36 points and 13 rebounds.  Salah Mejri has been playing pretty well as of late, but the versatile Davis is going to be a matchup nightmare for the lanky Tunisian and any of the other Mavs bigs.

 

The Mavs and Pelicans split last season’s matchups, but the not intimidatingly named Smoothie King Center has not been a tough place to play for Dallas in the post-Chris–Paul-era.  Dallas has won six of their last eight in New Orleans dating back to the 2012-2013 season.  The Mavs should be dripping with confidence on the road after Harrison Barnes‘ game-winning floater against the Clippers gave them their second consecutive road win.

 

On the injury front, Dirk Nowitzki didn’t report any setbacks following his 17 first half minutes Friday night.  As of Sunday night, there have been no indications of what minute restriction he might be on Monday night.  J.J. Barea is still listed as day-to-day following his Achilles injury in Denver last Monday night.  Andrew Bogut remains out with his hyper-extended knee.

 

New Orleans is seemingly healthy with their only name on the injury report, according to ESPN.com, is big man Terrence Jones who missed Friday night’s game against the Miami Heat with stomach issues.

 

Tip-off in NOLA will be a slightly earlier 7:00 PM slot so take in some Mavs basketball before those Dallas Cowboys play on Monday Night Football.  Catch the Mavs on Fox Sports Southwest.