Lakers at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are one of several teams fighting to earn the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference and are playing at a high level after turning the team over to Dirk Nowitzki and a plethora of youngsters. The Los Angeles Lakers, who visit the Mavericks on Tuesday, turned their team over to the youngsters as well but have less hope for the immediate future as they toil in last place in the West.
Dallas is thriving behind 24-year-old leading scorer Harrison Barnes (20.1 points) and low-cost pickups Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell, who form the new starting backcourt in a small lineup with veteran Deron Williams being sent away on a buyout after the trade deadline. "We have a group of young guys who jell well together," Barnes told ESPN.com. "We're playing well together, and we have this consistency of lineup. We're trying to develop rotations, and guys are growing. Between the guys we have who are undrafted, who have 10-day contracts and are trying to play for deals, we're going out there to win. Everybody is on their toes and ready to go." While the Lakers are busy fighting off coups in the front office, on the court the team continues to fall with losses in seven straight and 18 of 22. "It would be nice to have the feeling of winning after some of these games, just to reinforce what we’re working there," Los Angeles coach Luke Walton told reporters. "We’re gonna continue to push it every day until the season’s over. It would be nice to have a little bit of a reward."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (19-44): Los Angeles is trying to find out if youngsters D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram are the building blocks of the future, and Russell is battling through a shooting slump. The 21-year-old went 2-of-11 from 3-point range in Sunday's 105-97 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans and had nearly as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven). “I missed a lot of wide-open ones," Russell told reporters. "I could see if I was forcing it or whatever, but I feel like I missed a lot of wide-open ones that they capitalized on."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (26-36): Dallas is 15-9 since moving Curry into the starting lineup, and the younger brother of two-time MVP Steph Curry is carving out his own identity by scoring 20 or more points in four straight games and five of the last six. Curry went 10-of-16 from the floor en route to 22 points in Sunday's 104-89 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder - the Mavericks' second straight win over a Western Conference team bound for the postseason. The young Dallas squad continues to be led by veteran power forward Dirk Nowitzki, who is inching toward 30,000 career points (29,980) and recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's win.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lakers PF Larry Nance Jr. suffered a sprained right wrist in Sunday's loss and is day-to-day.
2. Mavericks PF Nerlens Noel is shooting 63.6 percent from the field in five games since joining the team at the trade deadline.
3. Dallas took the last 13 in the series, including handing Los Angeles its worst loss in franchise history 122-73 on Jan. 22.