Mavericks at Suns
Rajon Rondo’s second game with Dallas was a losing proposition and the Mavericks will attempt to get back on the winning side of the ledger when they visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Rondo had 13 points and 11 assists for his first double-double since being acquired from the Boston Celtics last week. The Mavericks had a three-game winning streak snapped on Monday when they fell 105-102 to the Atlanta Hawks.
Phoenix just completed a 3-0 road trip and will try to turn around its shady home play as it is just 6-7 in front of the friendly fans. “Maybe at home we’re thinking, ‘Oh, we’re playing at home. We can beat anybody at home,’ ” point guard Goran Dragic told reporters. “Maybe we are too relaxed.” Mavericks guard Monta Ellis might have relaxed as he had 38 points in Rondo’s first game and dipped to 18 in the loss to the Hawks.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (20-9): Dallas is adjusting to its new point guard and Rondo is trying to absorb the offense as fast as he can. The Mavericks have scored their fewest first-half points in each of the last two games – 42 against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday and 38 against the Hawks. “We’re just not playing very well,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “We’ve got to play better, and we will play better. We’re not a finished product here with this new alignment and we have work to do.”
ABOUT THE SUNS (15-14): Guard Eric Bledsoe was one of the stars on the road trip, having a 25-point, 10-rebound outing against the New York Knicks, and he averaged 19 points during the trip. Forward Markieff Morris had 25 points in the last-second loss to Milwaukee and then put together three straight double-digit efforts on the excursion and is averaging 18.5 points over the last four games. Backup point guard Isaiah Thomas had just 10 points in a 104-92 win against Washington on Sunday after putting together three consecutive 20-point outings and he is averaging 18.8 points over the last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Phoenix defeated Dallas 118-106 on Dec. 5 for only its fifth win in the last 21 meetings.
2. Mavericks C Tyson Chandler collected 19 rebounds against Atlanta and is averaging 13.6 over the last five games.
3. Dragic is just 3-of-16 from 3-point range over the last three games.