Mavericks at Pistons
The Dallas Mavericks had little trouble with the Philadelphia 76ers' undermanned, undersized frontcourt Friday night. They'll find the sledding a whole lot tougher Saturday as they look to make it back-to-back victories against the host Detroit Pistons. The Mavericks broke out to an early 21-point lead before cruising to a 124-112 triumph over a Philadelphia 76ers team that was limited to just eight players due to a series of trades made ahead of Thursday's deadline.
While Dallas triumphed against a roster without a true center, the Pistons have three players capable of crashing the boards at a furious rate. And all three did just that in Friday's 115-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, as center Andre Drummond, power forward Greg Monroe and small forward Josh Smith all finished with double-digit rebound totals. Detroit will be seeking a little revenge after dropping a 116-106 decision in Dallas back on Jan. 26.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (33-23): Dallas has talked about the need to keep aging superstar Dirk Nowitzki fresh - and games like Friday's should accomplish that feat nicely. Nowitzki needed just 27 minutes to pour in 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting as the entire Dallas bench enjoyed extended burn with the game well in hand by early in the fourth quarter. Nowitzki and fellow greybeard Shawn Marion (11-of-14) combined to shoot a scorching 76.9 percent from the floor against Philadelphia, part of a team-wide 62.3-percent performance.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (23-32): When Detroit made an offseason plunge to land Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, it did so with visions of performances like the one it enjoyed Friday night. Both players had double-doubles, with Jennings recording 12 points and 14 assists for his first double-digit assist showing since racking up 12 in a 126-109 win over Denver back on Feb. 8. The one weak spot in Jennings' performance: he shot just 3-for-12 from the floor against Atlanta and is an abysmal 20-for-62 over his previous four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas has won nine of the last 10 encounters, including four straight.
2. Jennings had 26 points and seven assists in the Jan. 26 loss to Dallas.
3. The Mavericks are 6-6 on the tail end of a back-to-back, while Detroit is 6-8.