Dallas Mavericks look to end losing streak against Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks are in the midst of a four-game skid and have lost 6 of their last 10 games. With Luka back in action after missing two games, things are looking a little bit better for the Mavs.

After falling in back to back games to the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz, the Dallas Mavericks travel to Los Angeles to take on yet another Western Conference playoff hopeful. It’s not the Lakers.

The Mavs need to do something soon to give the fans hope again. Tanking is pretty much out of the question at this point as Dallas is 6.5 games out of the bottom five and even if they did make it, there is still no guarantee with the draft lottery. Dallas needs to try to win as many games as possible in the final 26 contests.

That starts with a Clippers team that is still trying to discover their identity after a big trade before the deadline. Tobias Harris, widely considered the Clippers best player so far this year, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in order to create more cap space for this summer.

If Dallas is going to pull out a win in this game, they will need to find a way to stop Montrezl Harrell and Danilo Gallinari, both of which have taken it to the Mavs at different points so far this season. Lou Williams can also score in a hurry if the Mavs don’t keep him in check.

Luka is back for this one, which is a very welcome sight for Dallas. The Mavs currently lead the season series 2-1 over the Clippers with tonight being the final contest for the year between the two squads. This is the first time the teams have met since the trade deadline also, which means the teams are vastly different than they were last time they met.

Dirk Nowitzki will look to carry on his scoring of late as he inches closer and closer to Wilt Chamberlain and the 6th spot on the NBA all-time scoring list. He needs to average just 4 points per game for the rest of the season to pass Chamberlain at the end of the year. I have a feeling the rest of the team will be happy to help him get there.

The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers tip-off tonight at 9:30 central time. The game will be played at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be televised on NBATV. Let’s go Mavs!