Mavericks at Lakers
The Dallas Mavericks are finding victories hard to come by, but the Los Angeles Lakers have been an easy mark in recent seasons. Dallas will be aiming to beat host Los Angeles for the 11th consecutive time in Tuesday's contest, and six of the wins during the streak have been by double digits.
Dallas opened the campaign with five consecutive losses before locking down on defense to produce an 86-75 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. The Mavericks allowed just 48 points over the final 41 minutes after giving up 27 first-quarter points. Los Angeles isn't having issues scoring and is averaging 119.7 points during a three-game winning streak. First-year coach Luke Walton installed a faster-paced system and Los Angeles increased the quantity and quality of its possessions while averaging 110.3 points through seven games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (1-5): Forward Harrison Barnes erupted for a career-best 34 points against Milwaukee, marking the second time this season the free-agent acquisition reached the 30-point mark. Barnes landed a four-year, $94 million deal from Dallas to pump up the offense and is averaging 20.8 points -- more than double his career average of 10.3. "I think the biggest thing that Coach (Rick Carlisle) has told me is just look for my shot and be aggressive," Barnes told reporters. "My teammates have a lot of confidence in me and when I was able to get into a good rhythm, the basket got bigger and bigger."
ABOUT THE LAKERS (4-3): Los Angeles posted a 119-108 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and owns a winning record for the first time since Dec. 6, 2013. The Lakers have improving youngsters D'Angelo Russell (team-best 15.9 average) and Julius Randle (14.4 points, team-best 7.9 rebounds) to build around and the overall attitude is changed and is no longer reminiscent of the team that set a franchise record with 65 losses last season. "To me, it's about us as a group," Walton told reporters. "It's about what we want to do, what we want to achieve and what we believe. Whether people say we're the best or the worst, I don't think that should influence our approach."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks held the Lakers to an average of 88.3 points while sweeping last season's three meetings.
2. Los Angeles F Larry Nance Jr. (concussion) will sit out after being injured on Sunday.
3. Dallas PF Dirk Nowitzki (Achilles) will miss his second straight game and fourth of the season while PG Deron Williams (calf) will likely miss his second in a row.
PREDICTION: Lakers 122, Mavericks 117