Mavericks at Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are not firing on all cylinders as they try to clinch their spot in the Western Conference playoffs and battle for the best possible seed. The Thunder will try to avoid a seventh loss in nine games when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Oklahoma City dipped into eighth place in the West with a 115-105 home loss on Friday to the Denver Nuggets - a team it could face in the first round of the playoffs. The Thunder are part of a four-team battle for the final four spots and are two games behind the fifth-place Utah Jazz but get the benefit of playing four of their final six games at home and the next two against teams out of the race - Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks dropped 17 of their last 20 games and could not insert themselves into a playoff race in the Eastern Conference while dropping a 105-99 decision to the Miami Heat in the opener of the two-game road trip on Thursday. "We played a great first half," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "The second half we didn't hit as many shots, but we had chances."
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), FS Oklahoma
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (29-46): Dallas dropped to 7-31 on the road with the loss in Miami and is trying to get the young players on the roster valuable experience down the stretch while also sending future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki out strong. Nowitzki scored 13 points in 28 minutes on Thursday to reach double figures for the second time in three games and knocked down three 3-pointers against the Heat. The other end of the NBA age spectrum is rookie Luka Doncic, who flirted with a third straight triple-double before finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on Thursday.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (44-32): Oklahoma City allowed Denver to shoot 56.5 percent from the floor and subsequently struggled to get out in transition. "The best attacking moments for this group is when we get stops and get out," All-Star forward Paul George told reporters. "A lot of teams like to load up, get into their help spots, shrink the floor against me and (Russell Westbrook). We got a lot more breathing room once we get stops and play in the open floor." George is battling a shoulder injury but logged at least 39 minutes in each of the last four games and averaged 28.5 points in that span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thunder C Steven Adams is 19-of-26 from the floor over the last two games after going 7-of-23 over the previous three contests.
2. Dallas PF Dwight Powell is averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds over the last two games.
3. The home team took each of the first three meetings, with Oklahoma City claiming a 122-102 victory on its own floor Dec. 31.