Mavericks at Wizards
The Dallas Mavericks are a team in transition after sending off several veterans prior to the trade deadline and are still trying to come together with all of the new pieces. The Mavericks will try to shake off back-to-back blowout losses and avoid a three-game slide when they visit the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Dallas suffered a 111-81 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday before beginning the three-game road trip on Monday by getting run off the floor in a 127-88 setback at Brooklyn. "The effort can't be good if you lose by this number of points," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "We've just simply got to do better." The Wizards are sitting outside the top eight in their conference as well but are getting some positive results from their new players and picked up a 135-121 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. Washington enters play on Tuesday three games behind the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets, who are all tied for the No. 8 spot in the East.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (27-36): One of the new pieces for Dallas is swingman Tim Hardaway Jr., who came over from the New York Knicks in the deal that sent away point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and others. Hardaway slumped to seven points - his lowest total in 11 games with the team - on 3-of-11 shooting Monday and is 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in the last two games. “We got blown out, we got our butts kicked," Hardaway told reporters. "We'll go into practice (on Tuesday) with a different mindset and competitive fire and just try to maintain that for the rest of the season."
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (26-37): Washington picked up forwards Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker in a trade with the Chicago Bulls prior to the deadline and the two combined for 48 points and 18 rebounds in Sunday’s triumph. "Everybody did their jobs tonight," Portis told reporters after the victory. "It was us going out there just trying to play the right way. I think we played with a sense of urgency, knowing that there’s 20 games left in the season, that we can really make our mark on this tail end and try to make a playoff push." Portis went 10-of-18 from the floor in the win after slumping to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting in a loss at Boston on Friday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki is 4-of-23 from the floor over the last two games.
2. Washington SG Bradley Beal is averaging 32.6 points on 53.2 percent shooting in five games since the All-Star break.
3. Dallas took the last five in the series, including a 119-100 home win on Nov. 6.