Mavericks at Pistons
After finally finding a degree of success on the road, Detroit attempts to snap a long stretch of failure at home when it takes on Dallas on Wednesday. The Pistons won two of three on a challenging West Coast road trip, but they dropped the finale by 22 points at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and return to Auburn Hills staring at a 10-game home losing streak. That skid is tied for the longest single-season slide at home in franchise history.
It won't help Detroit's cause that the opponent is the Mavericks, who clicked in all cylinders in a 107-87 win at New York on Tuesday. Led by Dirk Nowitzki's 16 points, five players landed in double figures as Dallas improved to 9-4 on the road and 11-2 against Eastern Conference opponents. Nowitzki averaged 26 points in a pair of wins over the Pistons last season as the Mavericks extended their winning streak in the series to five games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (18-8): A fast start and a solid push in the third quarter allowed head coach Rick Carlisle to sit his regulars down the stretch Tuesday night, which should help immensely heading into the second game in as many nights. Dallas actually has thrived in such situations, going 9-0 since last season in the second half of back-to-back sets when both games were on the road. Monta Ellis was the lone Maverick to play more than 25 minutes against the Knicks.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (5-20): Detroit's offensive woes have been well-documented, but the Pistons at least have more depth and another option in Jodie Meeks, who has played well in three games since returning from a back injury. He hit his first three 3-pointers of the season en route to 20 points in the loss to the Clippers and is averaging 12.7 points so far. Meeks, who was 19th in the league in total steals with the Los Angeles Lakers last season, also has seven thefts since his return.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Detroit lost 10 in a row at home Dec. 21, 1993, through Jan. 31, 1994, and again Jan. 23 through Feb. 27, 1980.
2. Mavericks PG Devin Harris is averaging 12.3 points while making 7-of-13 3-pointers over his last three games.
3. Pistons C Andre Drummond has four straight double-doubles while averaging 15.8 points and 13 rebounds.