Mavericks at Jazz
The Dallas Mavericks have a chance at a well-timed sweep of a four-game road trip as they play the Utah Jazz on Tuesday in the finale of an excursion through the West. Dallas stands in seventh place in the Western Conference with four games remaining and is 1 1/2 games ahead of ninth-place Memphis in what has been a tight three-team battle (along with Phoenix) for the final two spots. The Mavericks are looking for their sixth consecutive road victory.
Dallas is also looking to complete a four-game season sweep of Utah, which has the worst record in the West. The Jazz were routed 130-102 by the Golden State Warriors on Sunday for their 17th loss in 20 games. The Mavericks’ magic number for clinching a playoff spot sits at three. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time,” standout forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters after Monday’s workout in Salt Lake City. “You don’t want to get too far ahead. (Tuesday) is a big challenge in this building, and hopefully we can take care of it.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (47-31): Nowitzki was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the 17th time in his stellar career after averaging 23.5 points and eight rebounds and shooting 56.5 percent from 3-point range during a four-game stretch. The 12-time All-Star was thrilled to win the award but it had nothing to do with adding to his long list of accomplishments. “Winning Player of the Week at this point in my career means that we’re winning games, and that’s what it’s all about,” Nowitzki said. “It’s not really about personal stuff anymore; it’s about making the playoffs. We didn’t make the playoffs last year.”
ABOUT THE JAZZ (24-53): After having just 14 assists in a three-game span, rookie Trey Burke dished out a career-best 15 in the loss to Golden State. Burke also had 24 points for his top effort since pouring in a career-high 30 against Orlando on Dec. 18. The youngster has just six double-digit assist outings and is often prone to stretches when he goes multiple games in which he has five or fewer. Burke is averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 assists and remains one of the building blocks for a franchise that needs a drastic overhaul.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas has won four consecutive meetings after Utah took the previous three.
2. F Erik Murphy could make his Utah debut after being claimed on waivers, and the Jazz waived C Andris Biedrins to open a roster spot.
3. Nowitzki (26,693) needs 18 points to pass legendary Oscar Robertson for 10th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.