Mavericks at Clippers
The Dallas Mavericks are locked in a three-team battle for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference as they enter Thursday’s pivotal road matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Dallas is tied for seventh-place in the West after both Memphis and Phoenix lost games on Wednesday, and the contest against the Clippers is the first of a four-game road trip. Los Angeles clinched the Pacific Division crown by beating the Suns on Wednesday.
The Clippers have won four straight games and 17 of their last 19 and are suddenly just 1 1/2 games behind second-place Oklahoma City in the West. Point guard Chris Paul wasn’t nearly excited about clinching the division as he was last season. “It’s nice but it doesn’t really mean much,” Paul said afterward. “We won the division title last year and lost in the first round. Last year we would have gone into the game knowing we had a chance to win the division. Now we don’t care; it’s all about the bigger picture.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (44-31): Veteran Vince Carter has been one of the more productive sixth men in the NBA this season and coach Rick Carlisle is pleased with how things have gone with Carter replacing longtime sixth man Jason Terry. “There’s got to be a willingness of the player to take on that kind of role,” Carlisle told reporters. “The way it’s gone here, when Terry left, we had a big void there, and Vince was proactive about it. He started talking about it right away – both publicly and with some of us internally – and it made perfect sense.” Cater is averaging 12.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while playing 24.5 minutes per game.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (54-22): Power forward Blake Griffin was a surprise performer against Phoenix after missing the previous game with a back injury. Griffin scored 23 points in 34 minutes despite it being clear he wasn’t playing at full strength. The All-Star also possesses a similar outlook as Paul when it comes to talking about clinching the division. “It’s an accomplishment and something to be proud of but by no means is that what we’re aiming for,” Griffin told reporters. “We have much bigger goals. That’s one of them on the way to it. It’s not plastered everywhere anymore.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Los Angeles averaged 119 points in three victories over the Mavericks earlier this season and has won six of the past seven meetings.
2. Clippers G Jamal Crawford (Achilles) is expected to miss his third straight game and F Danny Granger (hamstring) will likely miss his fourth.
3. After the contest against the Clippers, Dallas plays the three-worst teams in the West – the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz – on the road swing.