Suns at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks won five of their last nine games to crawl out of the basement in the Western Conference. One team they managed to climb over on their way up was the Phoenix Suns, who will try to turn the tables when they visit Dallas on Thursday.
The Mavericks battled a slew of injuries over the first two months but are getting healthy with both Andrew Bogut and Dirk Nowitzki back, which is allowing coach Rick Carlisle to experiment more with his lineups. Nowitzki, one of the best power forwards in league history, served as the starting center on Tuesday in a 113-105 victory after Bogut agreed to come off the bench. The Suns, who are 29th in the NBA in scoring defense (112.2 points) are starting to improve on that end and held three of their last four opponents to 91 points or fewer while grabbing a pair of wins. Phoenix held the Miami Heat to 39.6 percent shooting in a 99-90 home win on Tuesday and is making a one-game stop on the road before returning home for a four-game stand that includes visits from Cleveland, San Antonio, Utah and another date with Dallas.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE SUNS (11-25): Rookie power forward Marquese Chriss continues to earn playing time thanks to his length and athleticism on the defensive end but is starting to contribute on the other side of the floor as well. The 19-year-old scored a season-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Tuesday's triumph and reached double figures in three of the last six contests. Shooting guard Devin Booker, 20, scored a team-high 27 points in Tuesday's triumph and is averaging 19.8 points in the last four games.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (11-24): The Mavericks have a much older core than Phoenix, and Carlisle is managing minutes while trying to keep everyone healthy. Bogut, 32, logged 20 minutes off the bench on Tuesday while Nowitzki, 38, played 24 as the starter. "It's not something you're going to go home and take to your family and get a cake over," Bogut told ESPN.com of his move to the bench. "It's just something you've got to deal with in this league."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks SF Harrison Barnes totaled 51 points on 19-of-36 shooting in the last two games.
2. Suns reserve PG Brandon Knight (wrist) sat out Tuesday and is day-to-day.
3. Dallas swept the three-game series last season, winning by an average of 13 points.