Mavericks at Hornets
The Dallas Mavericks still can't find a way to win on the road, and the issue is sending them down the standings in the Western Conference. The Mavericks will try to snap a nine-game road losing streak when they continue a four-game trip by visiting the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Dallas began the trip by dropping a 122-102 decision at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, which pushed the team's road record to 2-16. The Mavericks, who continue the trip with a back-to-back at Boston and Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday, beat the Thunder at home on Sunday before going on the road and committing 29 turnovers in dropping the second night of the home-and-home set. The Hornets are winners of four in a row at home after star guard Kemba Walker led the way with 24 points in a 125-100 drubbing of the Orlando Magic on Monday. “It was a good team effort tonight," Walker told reporters after the win. "Everybody did a great job coming in and making some great contributions to this win. But you know, we've got to get more consistent still. We've been doing this all year. Go on the road, bad loss, come home, get a great win. It just can't be like that. We've got to get some type of consistency between us. We've got to get right."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), FS Southeast (Hornets)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (17-19): Dallas' 29 turnovers on Monday were a season high and three off the franchise record. "It was a world's record," coach Rick Carlisle exaggerated to reporters. "They had a lot to do with it, but we can do better, and we'll keep working at it. The level of force was clearly in their favor, and that put us behind the eight-ball early. We were on our heels early and never really got our bearings, and that kills you on the road." Star rookie Luka Doncic was held to 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the loss, snapping a string of four straight games with at least 21 points.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (18-18): Second-year shooting guard Malik Monk came off the bench to score 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting on Monday - snapping a string of three straight games scoring in single digits - and is hoping the performance closing out 2018 is indicative of how the team will begin 2019. "Oh yeah, we needed it, we needed that. We needed to close out the year," Monk told reporters. "How you end the year is how you start the new one, so we're starting off with a good start." Walker went 10-of-16 from the floor in the easy victory and is averaging 31.2 points on 56.6 percent shooting over the last five contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets C Cody Zeller suffered a fractured right hand on Monday and is out indefinitely.
2. Mavericks SF Harrison Barnes matched a career high with seven 3-pointers on Monday.
3. The road team took five of the last six in the series, with Dallas earning a 115-111 win at Charlotte last season.