Clippers at Mavericks
After losing back-to-back games to teams that will watch the
playoffs on television, the Dallas Mavericks look to get back on track
when they host the playoff-bound Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Dallas
melted down late in regulation Sunday while suffering a 116-114
overtime road loss to the Denver Nuggets, three days after experiencing a home defeat against the Sacramento Kings.
The Mavericks had a four-point lead with 21 seconds left in regulation against Denver before being unable to close it out as the Nuggets turned a stolen in-bounds pass into a game-tying dunk. "We just made some crucial mistakes down the stretch," backup power forward David Lee told reporters. "We couldn't really get a stop when we needed to, and it seemed like both teams had the game won three or four different times. It was a hard-fought game, but that's one we need to get." The Clippers are coming off a disappointing 107-97 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday and are 5-4 over the last nine games. "It's too late in the season to have letdowns like the one we had," All-Star point guard Chris Paul told reporters. "That can't happen."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (40-21): Center DeAndre Jordan will again be the subject of boos and vicious signs from the Dallas fans because of his last-minute spurning of the Mavericks during the summer free-agent process. Jordan had nine points - he was 3-of-9 from the free-throw line - and 11 rebounds in the Nov. 11 visit to Dallas and is averaging 7.5 points and 13 rebounds in two contests against the Mavericks this season. Jordan has posted 18 consecutive double-digit outings on the boards and ranks second in the NBA in rebounding (14 per game) and blocked shots (2.3).
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (33-30): Dirk Nowitzki doesn't explode for high-scoring outputs too often at this point in his career but the 37-year-old forward scored 30 points Sunday for his second 30-point performance in six games. Nowitzki also went over 1,000 points for the season, allowing him to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19), Karl Malone (18), Tim Duncan (17) and John Havlicek (16) as the only players to do so in 16 or more consecutive seasons. Nowitzki is averaging 23.5 points and nine rebounds against the Clippers this season and had 31 points (on 11-of-14 shooting) and 11 rebounds in the Nov. 11 victory.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have won nine of the past 13 meetings.
2. Dallas backup PG Raymond Felton was 1-of-8 shooting against Denver and is 8-of-26 over the past four games.
3. Paul has registered six consecutive double-doubles and eight in the past nine games.