Mavericks at Warriors
THE STORY: The Dallas Mavericks are mired in their longest road losing streak in more than 12 years and are playing their third game in three nights. In short, the reigning NBA champions couldn't appear more vulnerable, but the question is whether the Golden State Warriors can exploit the situation when they host the Mavericks on Saturday night. The Warriors returned home from a six-game road trip and were waylaid by Memphis on Wednesday in a performance so woeful that it prompted forward David Lee to apologize to fans on his Twitter account.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSSW (Mavericks), CS Bay Area (Warriors), NBA TV
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (23-19): One of the few bright spots for Dallas in Friday's 110-97 loss at Sacramento was the play of sixth man Jason Terry. Kept on the bench in the waning stages of Thursday's two-point loss to Phoenix due to a “coach's decision,” Terry responded with a team-high 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting. It was Terry's highest output since he scored 25 points on Feb. 1. Terry is scheduled to play in the 1,000th game of his career Saturday night.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (15-21): Stephen Curry, coming off the bench for the second straight game after being sidelined for four games due to a strained tendon in his foot, is aiming for quality rather than quantity. He scored 15 points in 24 minutes against Memphis after netting 12 in nine minutes at Washington. Curry is 12 of 18 shooting in the two games. “It's not where I want it to be,” Curry said of his foot. “I'm just trying to be as effective as I can when I get out there.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Dallas hasn’t dropped seven straight on the road since an eight-game skid from Nov. 7-30, 1999.
2. Golden State won the last meeting on April 2, 2011, but Dallas won the previous six, averaging 111 points in that streak.
3. Mavericks C Brendan Haywood (ankle) has sat out the past two games.