The Dallas Mavericks will look for their sixth consecutive win when they face the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.
Dallas secured their ninth win in the last 10 games with a 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, advancing to the knockout round of the NBA Cup.
The Wizards, on the other hand, have lost 15 games in a row, including a tough 118-87 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which eliminated them from the NBA Cup group stage for the second consecutive season.
The Mavericks struggled in the third quarter against the Grizzlies, committing more turnovers (11) than field goals made (10), but they came back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 16 points off the bench, including two crucial 3-pointers to put Dallas ahead 116-111 with 1:09 remaining. He made 5 of 10 shots in 25 minutes, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Dallas managed to win despite committing 25 turnovers and missing 14 free throws.
“I thought the group did a great job of staying together,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “There was a lot of positivity on the bench. We just kept fighting. (We had) a lot of turnovers — things that we haven’t been doing. But the team stayed together.”
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 37 points, bringing his total to 73 in the past two games. He also had 12 rebounds and four steals, shooting 11 of 22 from the field and 5 of 9 from three-point range. P.J. Washington scored 18 points, and Dereck Lively II added 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.
“We can fight, and we know we can fight,” Lively said. “We all lean on each other to try to play the best we can.”
The Wizards struggled against the Cavaliers, suffering their biggest defeat of the season. Washington is now just one loss away from matching the franchise record for consecutive losses, which is 16.
Jonas Valanciunas, Jordan Poole, and rookie Bub Carrington each scored 13 points for Washington. Valanciunas also grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Washington committed eight turnovers in the first quarter and trailed 35-20 at the end of the first. Although they cut the lead to 10 in the second quarter, the Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run to extend their advantage.
“The first quarter they came out and hit us in the mouth,” Wizards coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought we fought back at the start of the second quarter.”
The Wizards shot 38.6 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from beyond the arc, and they committed 21 turnovers.
“We probably played in crowds too much,” Keefe said, “and then we did miss some wide-open shots.”
The Wizards also faced injuries, with rookie forward Kyshawn George and guard Corey Kispert each suffering sprained left ankles in the second quarter and being ruled out. Guard Malcolm Brogdon also left the game in the third quarter due to right knee soreness.
Dallas won both matchups with Washington last season, claiming a 130-117 victory in Washington behind 31 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and a 112-104 win in Dallas, with Doncic and Kyrie Irving each scoring 26 points.
