Jazz at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks look to record their 10th consecutive home win over
Utah when they host the Jazz on Friday. The Mavericks have won 23 of
the past 26 home meetings against Utah, with the Jazz last winning in
Dallas on Jan. 9, 2010.
The Mavericks are thriving with five consecutive victories and just concluded a three-game road sweep of Houston, Philadelphia and Boston. Dallas was getting routed early by the Celtics on Wednesday and recovered from an 18-point deficit to record a 106-102 victory. "I don't think we were ready for how intense they play," forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters. "We did a great job closing it out there in the fourth." Utah registered a 93-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and the meeting with Dallas will be its ninth on the road in 12 games this season.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (6-5): Utah has started strong despite the road-heavy schedule and Wednesday's 93-89 home win against Toronto was another example of the progress the young squad is making. Utah scored just 59 points through the first three quarters before finding its offense in the final 12 minutes and used a late 11-2 run to take charge of the contest. "It's definitely satisfying because in past years we probably would have fumbled and probably would have lost by 20 or something in that little span of time," power forward Derrick Favors said afterward. "Now we've been through so much and been through those situations before, we just know how to handle it now."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (8-4): Nowitzki scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting against Boston for his third 20-point outing in his last four games. The 37-year-old star is mighty impressed with the work ethic of backup forward Dwight Powell, the 24-year-old project who is averaging 10.2 points and 7.9 rebounds. "He never goes home," Nowitzki told reporters. "It seems like every time I come in, he's in there working, either lifting or running or shooting. He just wants to get better all the time. Now that he's got some playing time, he's still working harder than everybody else."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah recorded a 109-92 home win over the Mavericks on April 13 to end an eight-game losing streak against Dallas.
2. Jazz backup SG Alec Burks has scored in double digits in five straight games and 10 of 11.
3. Dallas C Zaza Pachulia is off to a stellar start with six double-doubles and seven double-digit rebounding efforts.