Mavericks at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are working hard to keep the surging San Antonio Spurs in their sights for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Dallas Mavericks, who visit the Thunder on Sunday, are working hard to hold off the crowd at the bottom of the West playoff picture. The Mavericks are fighting with the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 7 spot at the moment, 1 1/2 games ahead of No. 9 Phoenix.
Dallas is 1-1 on its three-game road trip after Dirk Nowitzki went off for 31 points in a 108-101 victory at Utah on Wednesday. The Mavericks will play eight straight at home after finishing up with Oklahoma City, taking them all the way to April 1 before hitting the road again. The Thunder appear to be coming around in the last week after a short adjustment period while integrating Russell Westbrook back into the system and figuring out how to cover on the defensive end with Kendrick Perkins (groin) and Thabo Sefolosha (calf) dealing with injuries.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (39-27): Nowitzki shot under 50 percent from the field in three straight games before busting out of the slump by going 12-of-14 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line against the Jazz. “(Nowitzki) really led our team tonight,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after the game. “Our guys played with some real emotions. They knew the importance of the game, but Dirk was great from start to finish. I mean, 12-for-14 is ridiculous and 4-for-4 from three. It’s hard to do much better than that.” Nowitzki was held to 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting in a 107-93 loss at Oklahoma City on Nov. 6.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (48-17): Oklahoma City surrendered an average of 121 points in back-to-back road losses before turning things around this week with home wins over the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder allowed an average of 100 points in those two triumphs and held the Lakers to 39.4 percent shooting in the 131-102 rout on Friday. “Our disposition has been different the last two games,” forward Caron Butler told reporters. “If you want to be a contender in this league on a night-to-night basis, you have to start on the defensive end.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oklahoma City has taken 11 straight in the series.
2. Westbrook is averaging 27.3 points in 28.5 minutes over the last four games.
3. Dallas F Jae Crowder (abdominal) has missed the last two games but could return on Sunday.