Wizards at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks look to continue their dominance in the series when they host the struggling Washington Wizards on Saturday. The Mavericks earned a 116-104 road victory Sunday to extend their winning streak to 11 games against the Wizards and have won five straight at home versus Washington, including a 27-point rout last December.
Dallas has not been as commanding at home as it would like, managing only a 5-4 record after a 98-95 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday while going 8-6 on the road. “Too many times teams are coming to our home court thinking they can win the game,” Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews told reporters. “And that defeats the purpose of home-court advantage. We do it on the road. We got to bring that here.” The Wizards need a win any way they can get it after dropping a 107-105 decision at New Orleans on Friday night. Washington has lost eight of its last 11 contests and shooting guard Bradley Beal sat out Friday’s game with a sore right leg.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic Plus (Washington), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (9-12): Beal, who is averaging 19.8 points, is expected to have his leg examined Saturday after coach Randy Wittman told the Washington Post he was held out for precautionary reasons. The Wizards were also missing forwards Kris Humphries (ankle) and Nene (calf) on Friday while Garrett Temple replaced Beal in the starting lineup. Point guard John Wall has not shown any effects from a sore knee while averaging 26.5 points and 10.3 assists over the last four games.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (13-10): Leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki (17.6) had a rough shooting night Wednesday, managing 13 points and missing seven of his eight 3-point attempts. Matthews is averaging 21 points in his last three games while fellow perimeter threat Deron Williams scored 20.2 per contest over the last five. The Mavericks are still waiting for more production from forward Chandler Parsons, who is averaging 7.9 points while being brought along slow following offseason knee surgery.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas C Zaza Pachulia is averaging 12.8 rebounds in five December games, including 17 against Atlanta on Wednesday.
2. Washington G Gary Neal is averaging 14.6 points and shooting 51.9 percent from the field – including 11-of-24 from 3-point range -- the last five games.
3. Mavericks G J.J. Barea returned Wednesday after missing six games with an ankle injury, but missed all six shots he attempted in 10 minutes.