Warriors at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are still knocking around the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture but look to be locked into the No. 7 spot. That spot comes with the benefit of avoiding a first-round meeting with the Golden State Warriors, who will try to extend their latest winning streak to 12 straight when they visit the Mavericks on Saturday.
The Warriors have already secured the top seed in the West but have yet to take their foot off the gas and added to a thrilling season with a last-second win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. Harrison Barnes knocked down the game-winning shot after clutch 3-pointers from Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry in the final minute. The Mavericks could be going up against all that firepower at less than full strength if Chandler Parsons can’t go after leaving Thursday’s loss in the third quarter with knee soreness. "It's pretty swollen and sore behind the knee," Parsons told ESPNDallas.com. "It's been sore for a few days now, but I thought I could get through (Thursday)."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (62-13): Golden State had every opportunity to pack it in after falling behind in the final minutes on Thursday but instead took every hit and came right back. “(The Suns) were the more physical team, we made some careless turnovers, and I thought they probably deserved to win,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “But some of the things I love about our team are that we’re competitive and we have guys who are fearless down the stretch. They’ll take and make a lot of big shots.” Golden State is hitting the road for its final three-game trip before finishing up with four in a row at home.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (46-30): Dallas is searching for consistency and crumbled down the stretch against Houston on Thursday, one night after closing strong in a 135-131 over Oklahoma City. “We just didn’t close the way we wanted,” forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters. “We gave up 31 points (in the fourth), and on the other end we couldn’t really get anything going. We just didn’t really get enough going there to really keep it close down the stretch.” Nowitzki is doing his part of late, averaging 19.3 points on 53.7 percent shooting in the last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks G Monta Ellis is 0-of-11 from 3-point range in his last three games.
2. Warriors F Draymond Green (shin inflammation) has missed three straight games and is day-to-day.
3. Golden State has taken six straight in the series, including three this season by an average of 12 points.