ATLANTA vs DALLAS
When: 2/10/2021 7:30 PM
Where: America Airlines Center, Dallas

TV: 7:30 PM
LINE: -3.5
PREDICTION: DALLAS , ATLANTA

Oddsmakers currently have Dallas Mavericks listed as -3.5 point favorites versus Atlanta Hawks, while the game’s total is sitting at 233.5.

The Mavericks have gone 4-7 at home. Dallas averages 43 rebounds per game and is 4-13 when outrebounded by opponents.

“It helps bring back a little bit of the normalcy,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said regarding the return of 1,500 spectators to the venue.

The Hawks are 5-5 on the road. Atlanta is 8-3 in games decided by 10 or more points.

“I don’t know if you’re just going to replace De’Andre,” Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce said. “You just have to have other guys step up, and that’s what we’re looking for. … It definitely doesn’t sound like a season-ending injury. I’m sure it’s going to take some time for rehab and from a strength and conditioning standpoint, but all signs so far are he’s going to be back — just don’t know exactly when.”

The teams meet for the second time this season. The Mavericks won 122-116 in the last matchup on Feb. 3. Doncic led Dallas with 27 points, and John Collins led Atlanta with 35 points.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Doncic leads the Mavericks with 9.3 assists and scores 27.8 points per game. Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers and 16.8 points over the last 10 games for Dallas.

Trae Young leads the Hawks averaging 9.2 assists while scoring 26.7 points per game. Collins is averaging 20.7 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 53.0% over the last 10 games for Atlanta.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Mavericks: 3-7, averaging 113.8 points, 40.7 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.3 points on 49.5% shooting.

Hawks: 5-5, averaging 114.4 points, 44.9 rebounds, 24.2 assists, 6.1 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.5 points on 46.2% shooting.

INJURIES:

Mavericks: None listed.

Hawks: De’Andre Hunter: out (right knee), Kris Dunn: out (right ankle), Bogdan Bogdanovic: out (knee).

BOTTOM LINE: Luka Doncic leads Dallas into a matchup with Atlanta. He ranks sixth in the NBA scoring 27.8 points per game.

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MINNESOTA vs DALLAS
When: 2/8/2021 8:30 PM
Where:

TV: 8:30 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: DALLAS , MINNESOTA

Oddsmakers currently have the DALLAS listed as 9.5 point favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 225.5.

Rick Carlisle played with Larry Bird and coached Reggie Miller.

So when the Dallas Mavericks coach makes a comparison to those two, it carries some weight.

Those were the names that came to Carlisle’s mind after the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic went toe-to-toe with two-time MVP Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in a nationally televised game Saturday night.

Curry had the second-highest scoring game of his career with 57 points, but Doncic tied his career high with 42 points and added 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Mavericks snapped a six-game home losing streak with a 134-132 victory.

Doncic and the Mavericks will look to build on that when they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

“The basketball floor is his stage,” Carlisle said of his 21-year-old star. “Guys like him … when there’s another player on the other team raising his game to the level that Curry was, you feel an obligation, if you’re that kind of player.

“I saw (Larry) Bird do it. I saw (Reggie) Miller do it. You just dig deep and you find a way to try to match the guy, and try to match the guy for your team. And that’s what he did. Whether it was shot-making. Whether it was play-making. Whether it was getting to the free-throw line when we were in a rut. He was spectacular.”

Doncic, who is second to Curry among Western Conference guards in voting for the All-Star Game, scored 25 or more points for the 10th consecutive game, the third player in franchise history to do so. Mark Aguirre and Dirk Nowitzki share the team record with 13-game streaks.

Doncic, who assisted on Maxi Kleber’s 3-pointer that gave the Mavs a four-point lead with 5.6 seconds remaining, said he drew inspiration from facing Curry.

“Going against Steph, it’s fun,” he said. “I’ve got to have more fun playing the game, to be who I was before. I’ve just got to get back to enjoying the game.”

Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who avenged a 31-point loss to Golden State two nights earlier on the same court.

The Timberwolves suffered a 120-118 loss Saturday at Oklahoma City after allowing 83 first-half points.

Naz Reid scored a career-high 29 points as Minnesota rallied from a 23-point deficit, but missed a layup that would have tied the score with two seconds to play.

“Sometimes we just have our moments,” Reid said. “We’re not good enough to have our moments. We have to be on our P’s and Q’s for the entire game.”

The Timberwolves were without Jarrett Culver (left ankle sprain), D’Angelo Russell (right quad soreness) and Karl-Anthony Towns (health and safety protocols).

“You have to ask, did we deserve to win that one?” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said. “Giving up 83 in a half, you don’t do your work early enough. You just dig yourself a hole. I’m happy with the effort in the second half. But that first half just wasn’t acceptable.”

The Mavericks are set to allow fans at American Airlines Center for the first time this season Monday. The team said it will invite up to 1,500 essential workers to attend for free.

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GOLDEN STATE vs DALLAS
When: 2/6/2021 8:35 PM
Where:

TV: 8:35 PM
LINE: -4
PREDICTION: DALLAS , GOLDEN STATE

Oddsmakers currently have the DALLAS listed as -4 point favorites versus the GOLDEN STATE, while the game’s total is sitting at 230.5.

The Golden State Warriors will try to sustain near-perfection against a motivated opponent when they go for a two-game sweep of the host Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.

The injury-plagued and undersized Warriors outshot and, shockingly, outrebounded the Mavericks in a 147-116 romp in the opener of the three-day, two-game set on Thursday.

With Golden State forced to play small with its three centers and top reserve forward injured, Kelly Oubre Jr. responded best to the faster pace with a career-best 40 points.

Oubre, who began the season by missing his first 17 3-point shots and 27 of his first 28, bombed in seven 3-pointers in 10 attempts against the Mavericks. Golden State shot 51.2 percent (22 of 43) from beyond the arc and 57.3 percent overall as a team.

Led by Oubre and Juan Toscano-Anderson, the Warriors also amassed 45 rebounds, three more than the Mavericks, whose starting center — 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis — had an eight-inch height advantage over the tallest Golden State player.

“I felt like Nellie,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Golden State legend Don Nelson and his preferred small-ball approach. “It was like the Run TMC days all over again.”

Run TMC was the nickname applied to the Golden State team led by Tim Hardaway (T), Mitch Richmond (M) and Chris Mullin (C) that shocked the top-seeded Mavericks in the 2007 NBA playoffs.

Thursday’s outcome was arguably just as shocking. Stephen Curry added 28 points and Andrew Wiggins 18 as all nine Warriors who suited up got into the scoring act.

Toscano-Anderson, a two-way player who hadn’t been active or seen action in 14 of the team’s previous 16 games, was pressed into a starting role and excelled, complementing his 14 points with career-high-tying efforts in rebounds with eight, assists with five and blocks with two.

The 6-foot-6 Mexican national team player outrebounded Porzingis, 8-5.

The Warriors could be getting one of their injured players, second-team forward Eric Paschall, back for the rematch. He missed Thursday’s game with swelling in his right knee.

Dallas, which was playing its second game in two nights, kept pace with the Warriors by making 18 of their first 36 3-point attempts. But reality eventually set in for the NBA’s worst 3-point-shooting club, and their 2-for-14 finish helped Golden State pull away in the end.

“The nature of NBA basketball is to fall into a shot-trade type of back and forth when you’re hitting shots and when the other team is hitting shots,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle noted afterward. “It just feels like the game is flowing and one team can outscore the other.

“It’s a very dangerous situation to get in, especially with a team like Golden State, which is highly skilled.”

Porzingis finished with 25 points, 15 coming on 3-pointers. He attempted just eight shots inside the arc, making four.

Luka Doncic, a guard who at 6-7 was the same height as Golden State’s tallest player, led Dallas with 27 points, but he was harassed into five turnovers.

The clubs were meeting in Dallas for the first time since the Mavericks put a similar shellacking on the Warriors, 142-94, early last season.

Dallas swept last year’s three-game season series by an average of 31.7 points.

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GOLDEN STATE vs DALLAS
When: 2/4/2021 7:35 PM
Where:

TV: 7:35 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: DALLAS , GOLDEN STATE

Oddsmakers currently have the DALLAS listed as 3.5 point favorites versus the GOLDEN STATE, while the game’s total is sitting at 224.5.

The Golden State Warriors embark on one of the most unusual road trips in franchise history, and do so without any of the three centers on their roster, when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

The Warriors landed in Dallas on Wednesday to begin a seven-day stay in the state of Texas, one in which they will visit just two cities.

After facing the Mavericks on Thursday and Saturday, the Warriors will move on to San Antonio, where they also will face the same opponent, the Spurs, in consecutive games on Monday and Tuesday.

The Warriors are coming off a 111-107 home loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, a game in which starting center Kevon Looney sustained a left ankle sprain that is expected to keep him out at least two weeks.

Golden State was already down Marquese Chriss, who broke his right leg early in the season, and James Wiseman, who sprained his left wrist Saturday in the Warriors’ win over the Detroit Pistons.

The remaining Warriors center options are all undersized forwards — 6-foot-6 Draymond Green, 6-6 Eric Paschall and 6-6 Juan Toscano-Anderson, who had been inactive 11 times in Golden State’s previous 14 games before earning a spot on the end of the bench Tuesday with Wiseman unavailable.

Toscano-Anderson was then pressed into 27 minutes of action against the Celtics, and he equaled his career-high in points (16) and 3-pointers (three).

“I am always prepared,” the former four-year Marquette player said after the Tuesday game. “I am a position-less player.

“My goal is to earn the trust of Steve (Kerr, the head coach,) and the rest of the coaching staff. Wherever he puts me in to plug a hole, that’s where I am going to try to be effective. Whether that is initiating the offense, defending the point guard, playing (center) … it is basketball and I just want to be effective wherever he puts me. I am ready for whatever.”

In this case, Toscano-Anderson probably should be ready for 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis, who contributed 24 points and 11 rebounds to Dallas’ 122-116 win at Atlanta on the front end of a back-to-back on Wednesday.

The oft-injured Porzingis hasn’t always played back-to-backs this season, so he’s no sure thing for the Thursday contest. He sat out Dallas’ Saturday home loss to Phoenix under similar circumstances after having played the night before at Utah.

Unlike the Warriors, the Mavericks have legitimate center options should they decide to rest Porzingis again. Willie Cauley-Stein, who started 37 games for Golden State last season and has started 10 of 22 for Dallas this season, would be an option, as would lesser-used backup Boban Marjanovic.

The teams haven’t met this season after the Mavericks crushed the Warriors in three straight last season, winning by an average of 31.7 points.

Luka Doncic averaged 28.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists in those games. Porzingis saw action in two of the contests, going for 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Doncic amassed 27 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds Wednesday against the Hawks as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak.

Even though it’s a back-to-back, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle left Atlanta looking forward to having his team in action again.

“Winning is huge,” he said. “It makes a big difference. Things are very upbeat right now.”

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DALLAS vs ATLANTA
When: 2/3/2021 7:30 PM
Where:

TV: 7:30 PM
LINE: 1.5
PREDICTION: ATLANTA , DALLAS

Oddsmakers currently have the ATLANTA listed as 1.5 point favorites versus the DALLAS, while the game’s total is sitting at 222.5.

The Dallas Mavericks will attempt to end a frustrating six-game losing streak on Wednesday night when they visit the Atlanta Hawks.

The Mavericks are coming off a 109-108 loss to Phoenix on Monday, a game decided by Devin Booker’s 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left.

The Hawks, who have won five of their last eight games, went toe-to-toe with the world champion Los Angeles Lakers on Monday before faltering in the final two minutes and losing 107-99.

Dallas has its full complement of players on the roster again after the return of Maxi Kleber, who had missed 11 games in health and safety protocols. He produced two points and six rebounds in 18 minutes on Monday. Kleber and Kristaps Porzingis were both in the starting lineup for the first time this season, as the Mavs used their 12th different starting combination this season.

It is uncertain whether Porzingis will be available for the Atlanta game as he continues to work his way back from an October knee surgery. He was withheld from the lineup Saturday and returned to play 34 minutes on Monday, when he tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“Let me be clear, he wants to play in all of these games,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “It really bothers him.”

Josh Richardson scored a season-high 24 points against the Suns on Monday. It was his first time in double figures since Jan. 7, before he missed nine games due to health and safety protocols.

The Hawks were missing No. 2 scorer De’Andre Hunter, who was out after having a non-surgical procedure on his right knee on Sunday. He was replaced in the starting five by Cam Reddish, who played a solid defensive game against LeBron James. Atlanta is also missing reserve center Onyeka Okongwu with left Achilles soreness.

Although the Hawks lost to the Lakers, they continue to hold their own against the league’s top teams, an indication of a potential breakthrough. Atlanta is sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. But the Atlanta players don’t want to think in terms of a moral victory.

“Just me as a competitor, if you lose, you lose,” Trae Young said. “Obviously, I know who we’re going up against and I felt like we had a chance to win that game.”

As usual, the meeting between the two teams will be another opportunity to compare Young with Dallas’ Luka Doncic. The Hawks originally drafted Doncic with the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, but immediately traded him away for Young, the No. 5 pick, and a first-round pick for 2019. Doncic and Young were both voted as starters for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

Doncic is averaging 27.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists. In two career games against the Hawks, Doncic has averaged 22.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Young is averaging 26.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 9.0 assists. In four career games against the Mavericks, Young has averaged 19.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists.

Atlanta has won 11 of the last 13 meetings in the series against Dallas. They split the two games last season, with each team winning on their home court.

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PHOENIX vs DALLAS
When: 2/1/2021 8:30 PM
Where:

TV: 8:30 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: DALLAS , PHOENIX

Oddsmakers currently have the DALLAS listed as 1.5 point favorites versus the PHOENIX, while the game’s total is sitting at 219.5.

The Dallas Mavericks plan to offer a new look Monday night when they expect big men Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber to be available for their rematch with the visiting Phoenix Suns.

Deandre Ayton dominated the middle and Chris Paul came on strong late as the Suns rallied past the Mavericks 111-105 on Saturday night in the opener of the two-game set in Dallas.

With Porzingis resting on the second night of a back-to-back and Kleber still not cleared following a COVID issue, the Mavericks used Willie Cauley-Stein and Dwight Powell as their primary big men Saturday.

They combined for 22 points and 11 rebounds, but also for 12 fouls, each fouling out.

The Suns turned the Mavericks’ 26 fouls into a 31-14 edge in free throw attempts and a 27-8 dominance in points from the line, helping them offset Dallas’ 53.0-45.7 advantage in field-goal percentage.

With All-Star Devin Booker out for a fourth straight game while dealing with a strained left hamstring, Paul took charge in the fourth quarter, which began with the Suns down by five. Paul poured in 16 points in the period, helping the Suns outscore the Mavericks 34-23 to win their second straight.

Booker remains doubtful for Monday’s game.

Ayton (18 points, 17 rebounds) enjoyed being able to focus on rebounding down the stretch as everyone watched Paul take over the game offensively.

“I feel so honored just to be in those crunch-time minutes,” he said. “I was happy that I wasn’t in no foul trouble. Big ups to coach for trusting me and believing me.”

Dallas has lost five in a row and eight of its last 10.

“We’re bleeding,” Cauley-Stein assessed. “We’re trying to stop the bleeding.”

The win was Phoenix’s second of the season over their Western Conference rival. With Booker leading the way, the Suns prevailed in another close one, 106-102 at home on opening night, again with the Mavericks missing Porzingis.

The former All-Star has played in just nine games this season, and Dallas has lost six of them. He has not played his best ball of late, averaging 15.0 points on 36.0-percent shooting in his last three games.

Porzingis has enjoyed seeing the Suns in the past. He had 30 points in a meeting in the Florida bubble last August, the third time in nine career head-to-heads that he’s gone for 30 or more against Phoenix.

The NBA’s new same-opponent, same-site, two-game sets have not been friendly to the Mavericks, who lost by 12 and 19 points at Utah last week. Dallas will host another later this week when Golden State comes to town.

Another key for the Suns in Saturday’s win was a 30-27 advantage in points scored on 3-pointers despite taking seven fewer treys. Jae Crowder bombed in 4 of 9 to account for all but two of his 14 points.

Luka Doncic had three of the Mavericks’ nine 3-pointers. He finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

In two games against the Suns this season, Doncic has yet to record a double-double.

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PHOENIX vs DALLAS
When: 1/30/2021 9:00 PM
Where:

TV: 9:00 PM
LINE: -1.5
PREDICTION: DALLAS , PHOENIX

Oddsmakers currently have the DALLAS listed as -1.5 point favorites versus the PHOENIX, while the game’s total is sitting at 215.5.

The Dallas Mavericks own a season-worst, four-game losing streak, and superstar Luka Doncic is mighty peeved.

Dallas looks to halt its skid and lower the frustration level when it hosts the Phoenix Suns on Saturday in the first of two consecutive matchups between the clubs.

The Mavericks’ latest two setbacks both came against the red-hot Utah Jazz, and Friday’s game barely qualified as a competition. Dallas trailed 37-12 after the opening quarter and was behind by as many as 30 before succumbing 120-101.

Doncic also was upset Wednesday after Dallas’ 116-104 loss to the Jazz, and his personal dissatisfaction was a few octaves higher after the Friday game.

“Terrible. There’s really not much to say,” Doncic said of the performance. “We’ve got to do something. This isn’t looking good. We’ve got to step up and talk to each other and play much better than this. It’s mostly effort.”

Areas in which Dallas got outworked by the Jazz included the boards and the perimeter. Utah held a 56-40 rebounding advantage and made 20 of 48 3-point attempts while Dallas was just 9 of 33.

That’s not good enough in the eyes of Doncic, who isn’t seeing a winning-type attitude five-plus weeks into the season.

“Right now it’s looking like we don’t care, honestly, if we win games or not,” Doncic said of a team that is a disappointing 8-11. “We need more energy, more effort. Dive for every ball, box out. Everything. There’s a lot of things we can improve.”

Said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle: “This is a tough stretch. We got to fight through it. Right now, it is about sticking together and fighting our way through this thing.”

Doncic scored 25 points Friday, and he has played well individually over the past five games, averaging 30.4 during that stretch.

Teammate Kristaps Porzingis is one of the struggling Dallas players. He is shooting just 36 percent (18 of 50) over the past three games, and had just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting on Friday.

Phoenix will aim to defeat the Mavericks for the fifth straight time. The teams met in the season opener on Dec. 23 with the Suns claiming a 106-102 home win.

Phoenix will be without star guard Devin Booker (hamstring) for the fourth consecutive game as it opens a three-game road swing that includes another game in Dallas on Monday before ending in New Orleans on Wednesday.

The Suns lost their first two games without Booker as part of three straight setbacks before putting together a stellar 114-93 home triumph over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

Mikal Bridges led the balanced attack with 20 points as seven Suns scored in double digits. Phoenix had 34 assists on 41 field goals.

“That’s the kind of basketball we want to play,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “That’s the level I’m going to hold the guys to — 34 assists, the ball movement, the player movement, that’s who we are. The balance was much better.”

Phoenix got a solid lift from reserves Abdel Nader and Frank Kaminsky, who each played 25 minutes.

Nader scored a season-high 16 points for his second straight double-digit outing. Kaminsky scored a season-best 12 points, matched his career high of 13 rebounds and had a career-best eight assists as he flirted with his first career triple-double.

“Frank’s been amazing, making the job way easier for guys like myself,” Nader said of Kaminsky. “A big man with his head up and making those passes is huge.”

Bridges sank 6 of 10 field-goal attempts while posting his fourth 20-point effort of the campaign. He made just 7 of 22 shots while averaging nine points over the previous two games.

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DALLAS vs TORONTO
When: 1/18/2021 7:30 PM
Where:

TV: 7:30 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: TORONTO , DALLAS

Oddsmakers currently have TORONTO listed as 3.5 point favorites versus DALLAS, while the game’s total is sitting at 219.5.

The Toronto Raptors will try for their third straight win Monday night when they play the Dallas Mavericks in the middle game of a stretch of five consecutive contests at their temporary home in Tampa, Fla.

The Raptors, who have struggled early in the season, defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday and Saturday to open their homestand and have four wins in 12 games. The margin of victory was three points in each game against the Hornets, who missed the potential tying shot in both of them.

The undermanned Mavericks are 6-6 after losing their second consecutive game Sunday, 117-101 at home to the Chicago Bulls.

Luka Doncic, the Mavericks’ 21-year-old guard, passed Michael Jordan on the career list with his 29th triple-double, finishing with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists. Doncic is tied with Grant Hill for 15th in triple-doubles.

The Mavericks are missing five rotation players because of COVID-19 protocols and guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is out with a left groin strain.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse was pleased to get the victories against the Hornets, but said he felt there was considerable room for improvement.

“You know, I keep saying the same thing over and over. There’s some stretches of really good basketball and the stretches that aren’t so good cannot be as not so good as they were (Saturday),” Nurse said. “Those have to be average or slightly below and I thought we dipped a lot: Some great segments, some really poor segments. Probably our really good basketball segments weren’t as long (Saturday) as they have been in the last three or four games.”

One encouraging development for the Raptors Saturday was the play of struggling Norman Powell, who came off the bench to score 24 points and match his career-best six 3-pointers.

“I know 24 is a big night, we know he’s capable of that, that’s what we need, we need his punch, 15 or so off the bench,” Nurse said. “We’re going to need that offense, keep the offense ticking over with the second unit.”

Another bench player, Chris Boucher, continued his strong play with 20 points and nine rebounds. Boucher’s emergence has been vital because of the poor play of Aron Baynes, who was lifted after four minutes and 20 seconds and did not return.

“I know we’re not getting very much out of (Baynes) at this point,” Nurse said. “We read the game, you know. He’s almost like a reserve now. His stint is going to last as long as things are going well, or he’s impacting well.”

Doncic had 30 points in the first half on Sunday, although the Mavs were already trailing by 15 by halftime.

“The second half, I played terrible,” he said, alluding to his six points on 2-for-11 shooting. “I was being selfish a little bit because I had 30 points in the first half. That wasn’t me in the second half.”

Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points for the Mavericks. In addition to Hardaway, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell and Josh Richardson were out because of health and safety protocols.

Hardaway is listed as day to day. “We don’t think it’s serious,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

Brunson could return to the lineup Monday.

The game Monday will be the second of five games in seven days for the Mavericks — including three on the road — in what Carlisle called “the most challenging” week of the season.

“We’re very depleted, so we’re just going to have to be really tied together,” he said.

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CHICAGO vs DALLAS
When: 1/17/2021 3:00 PM
Where:

TV: 3:00 PM
LINE: -7
PREDICTION: DALLAS , CHICAGO

Oddsmakers currently have the DALLAS listed as -7 point favorites versus the CHICAGO, while the game’s total is sitting at 226.5.

Before Sunday’s matinee between the host Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls begins, the teams must move past some recent sour endings.

“We straight up folded,” the Bulls’ Zach LaVine said of Friday’s 127-125 overtime loss at Oklahoma City that saw Chicago squander a 10-point lead with 1:47 to go. “There’s not a lot to talk about.”

For Dallas, a 112-109 loss at Milwaukee on the same night seemingly turned as coach Rick Carlisle elected not to call a timeout to set up a play with the Mavericks trailing by two points late. Kristaps Porzingis’ contested 3-pointer with 10.4 seconds left was off the mark, prompting star Luca Doncic to react in frustration toward the team bench after Dallas fouled moments later.

“If we would’ve made the shot, everything would be good,” Doncic said. “I don’t know. It’s the coach’s decision to call a timeout or no, so I think it’s good.”

Doncic narrowly missed a triple-double, contributing 28 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds.

Playing in his second game after recuperating from offseason surgery on his right knee, Porzingis had 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting in 19 minutes.

Porzingis acknowledged a need to be “calmer” on the floor as he works back into a routine.

“There’s got to be a balance,” Porzingis said. “You want to be aggressive, but you want to be aggressive in situations and positions that you’re comfortable with. You don’t want to always look for it.”

First-year Bulls coach Billy Donovan is confident his young team will develop a stronger finishing kick, but pledged to do more after Chicago lost its fourth straight game, all by four points or less.

Committing 24 turnovers ultimately doomed the Bulls, who led the Thunder by 22 points in the third quarter and by 14 with 4:09 remaining.

“This is a hard-working group; it’s a good group of guys,” Donovan said. “They want to win. They don’t know how to. They’re learning how to. We’ve all got to pull together and work together and try to figure it out because this has been something these guys have dealt with for a while. I’m 12 games into this with them. And as a coach, you feel bad. You want to be able to do more, and I’ve got to try and find some different ways to try to help them as a group.”

Zach LaVine scored 35 points to lead five players in double figures. Back in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 29 due to NBA health and safety protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lauri Markkanen had 16 points.

Dallas’ Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, and Josh Richardson remained out Friday due to health and safety protocols.

Chicago defeated visiting Dallas 118-108 on Jan. 3 behind 39 points from LaVine and a strong finish from Coby White, who scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime.

Doncic missed the game with a quad contusion but Brunson, who played his prep ball in north suburban Chicago, helped fill the void with 31 points.

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DALLAS vs CHICAGO
When: 1/3/2021 8:05 PM
Where:

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: CHICAGO , DALLAS

Oddsmakers currently have the CHICAGO listed as point favorites versus the DALLAS, while the game’s total is sitting at .

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic notched his first double-double of the season Friday and fell three assists shy of earning a triple-double.

His next chance to build on that breakthrough comes Sunday, when Dallas (2-3) visits the Chicago Bulls (2-4) to begin a three-game road trip.

Make no mistake, Doncic knows fans count on him to amass impressive stats.

“It’s good and bad,” Doncic said. “A lot of people expect a lot from me, but that’s one ways good, one ways bad. You have a lot of pressure, but on the other hand people know I can do it. So it goes both ways.”

Doncic scored a season-high 27 points to go with 14 rebounds to lift the Mavericks to a 93-83 victory against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat on Friday. Admittedly behind in his conditioning, Doncic showed improvement in that category. He’s now averaging 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists.

“Luka’s going to get there,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s busting his tail. He’s working hard. You saw him working out after the game (Wednesday). Everything for him now is trending in a good direction conditioning-wise.”

Dallas is set to play at Houston on Monday night before traveling to Denver on Thursday, making conditioning important up and down the roster.

Carlisle said he was impressed with the resilience the team showed against the Heat two nights after a 19-point loss at Charlotte.

With Tim Hardaway (18 points) providing a secondary scoring punch behind Doncic, Dallas created important distance against Miami with a strong run bridging the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third.

“I think the players are starting to realize that this is going to be a different kind of year if we’re going to have success,” Carlisle said. “We’re not going to set a bunch of offensive records like we did last year. This is going to be about doing the little things hard, sacrificing yourself physically to get or two extra stops per game.”

Sunday marks a brief road respite for the Bulls, who are coming off Friday’s 126-96 loss at Milwaukee to conclude a three-game trip that opened with a sweep of a back-to-back series at Washington.

After hosting the Mavericks, Chicago will play its next four on the road.

Wherever they go, the Bulls will bank on Coby White to be a catalyst as the team’s ballhandler, a leadership role to which he is adjusting. White had more turnovers (four) than assists (three) Friday, one night after recording his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-best 10 assists.

“It’s not going to be perfect every night,” White said. “That’s not how basketball works. It’s about taking what you can from each game and taking it to the next game and getting better. … I feel like I’m getting better each game. That’s my first double-double game but I feel I can play a lot better than what I am.”

The Bulls remain without Chandler Hutchison, Lauri Markkanen, Ryan Arcidiacano and Tomas Satoransky under NBA health and safety protocols related to COVID-19 after Hutchison tested positive.

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