DALLAS, TX – The Dallas Mavericks (24-19) are back in American Airlines Center tonight after defeating the Orlando Magic (8-36) 108-92 here in AAC on Saturday night. Dallas is gearing up to play the Oklahoma City Thunder (14-28) in search of their fourth straight win.
Dallas had a good win on Saturday to a not so great Orlando organization. Luka Doncic led with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Jalen Brunson had 19 points and seven rebounds. Brunson has been very consistent for Dallas this season averaging 16 points per game. Brunson has been the fire of this team even when they are struggling with injuries and COVID-19 prodicals.
Kristaps Porzingis missed 10 games due to being on the COVID-19 reserve list. Luka Doncic also missed games due to COVID-19 as well as an ankle injury and has had a hard time getting his shot to fall since coming back. Since returning from COVID-19 he has hit only 9-of-47 from beyond the arc, converting to just 19 percent.
Doncic is obviously one of the best NBA players and has great ability on offense and defense, but the Mavs tend to look overall worse when he is not at his best.
Dallas all-around needs to be more consistent if they want to start knocking off these teams. The Mavs sit fifth in the conference at 24-19. They are currently six games behind the Grizzly’s.
Oklahoma City came into 2022 with a little bit of a disappointment. They have only won one game since 2022 broke and they have lost the last five contests.
The Thunder are coming off a bad loss to the Cleveland Cavs after having an 18-point lead. Darius Garland and company rallied to take the much needed win from the Thunder 107-102.
Oklahoma City is desperate for a win and Dallas can’t come out and play lazy just because we have a better record. The Mavs need to play an all-around 40 minute game to secure a win over the Thunder and push their win streak to four.
This will be the second game of a five game home stand for Dallas. The Mavs will host the Raptors and the Suns this week as well.
Game time is set for 7:30 PM on Bally Sports SW.
