Mavericks at Raptors
The Dallas Mavericks were building up a nice head of steam on the way to a No. 8 seed in the Western Conference before tripping up at the end of a homestand on Saturday. The Mavericks will try to pick themselves back up on the road when they visit the slumping Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Dallas took the first four of a five-game homestand before falling 100-98 to the 14th-place Phoenix Suns when it ran out of time to get off a winning 3-point attempt. "We didn’t play great, we didn't shoot the ball real great from the floor, and sometimes that sets you up to get a loss," Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters after the game. "That’s what happened tonight." The Raptors are returning home after a 2-3 road trip that culminated with a 104-89 setback at Miami on Saturday - the fourth straight game in which they failed to score 100 points. "We had, what, five assists? OK, seven, it's just as bad," All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters, according to the Toronto Star. "Missing shots as well. We just have to find our spots, find guys where they want it and execute. We can’t keep relying on iso basketball, or somebody making big shots or hoping somebody gets hot. We’ve got to play together."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), TSN 1/4/5 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (28-37): Dallas is sitting in 10th place in the West, 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Denver with Portland in between, and is about to embark on a four-game road trip against East teams. Nowitzki went 10-of-14 from the floor in Saturday's loss but the rest of the team was a combined 18-of-60, and the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer knows that his team's margin for error is slim. "We’ve got to get this one back," Nowitzki told reporters. "We’re in a tight playoff race, and we’ve got tough teams and a tough road trip coming up. Hopefully we can steal a few games there."
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (38-28): Toronto's offense is struggling without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry (wrist), who is not expected back until next month, but coach Dwane Casey believes a turnaround on offense needs to begin at the defensive end. "We have to recognize who we are," Casey told reporters after Saturday's loss. "Our identity is a hard-playing, defensive-minded team, and let our defense get us some points on the offensive end, and we did neither tonight." The Raptors are losers of 15 of their last 25 games to drop into fourth place in the Eastern Conference and are getting pressure from the fifth-place Atlanta Hawks.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks SG Wesley Matthews is 3-of-17 from the field in the last two games, including 2-of-10 from 3-point range.
2. Raptors C Jonas Valanciunas recorded a double-double in each of the last three games.
3. Toronto, which visits Dallas later this month, took both meetings last season.