Mavericks at Magic
Teams struggling to find wins meet Saturday when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Orlando Magic. Dallas avoided its first five-game losing streak since 2008 when it closed Friday's game against Miami with a 42-12 run behind 14 points from reserve Charlie Villanueva. The Magic have lost seven straight and 13 of 15 and it doesn't get any easier as they head to the road for games at Oklahoma City, and San Antonio after this one.
Villanueva finished with 20 points, Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 13 rebounds and the Mavericks held the Heat without a field goal for more than nine minutes during the decisive stretch of the 93-72 victory. Dallas overcame 3-of-17 shooting in the first quarter to finish at 41.5 percent, including 13-of-29 from the arc. Villanueva made 6-of-11 3-pointers and Devin Harris converted 3-of-6.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (31-17): Dallas yielded its fewest points on the road since a 90-70 win over Seattle on Jan. 11, 2008, in the Heat victory. Dirk Nowitzki shot 4-of-16 and is just 21-of-58 for 61 points in his last four games. Dallas, which has won five straight in the series and eight consecutive in Orlando, is closing out a three-game road trip and playing for the fourth time in five days.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (15-34): Orlando trailed by as many as 29 points, committed 24 turnovers and allowed Milwaukee to shoot 51.7 percent in a 115-100 loss to the visiting Bucks on Thursday. Victor Oladipo had 21 points and Nikola Vucevic added 17 and 14 rebounds for his 28th double-double. "It’s hard right now, but there are better days ahead," Oladipo said. "It’s hard to see that right now, but you have to have the belief in yourself and your team to win. We have to stay strong."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oladipo is shooting 47 percent while averaging 21 points over his last nine games.
2. The Magic have allowed 11 consecutive opponents to score 100 points and five of the last eight opponents to shoot 50 percent or better.
3. The high-powered Dallas offense has failed to reach 100 points in three straight and five of six after reaching the century mark in 28 of its previous 33 contests.