PREVIEW

MAVS (21-10) AT LAKERS (25-7)

Time: 8:30 p.m. CT

Place: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles

TV: FSSW, ESPN

Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM; Univision 1270 AM (Spanish)

About the Mavs: After beating the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Saturday, 141-121, the Mavs will play the second night of a back-to-back tonight. In such situations this season the Mavs are 2-1. They won at Memphis, 138-122, on Nov. 8, defeated Minnesota, 121-114, at home on Dec. 4, and lost at home to Sacramento, 110-106, on Dec. 8 . . . Luka Doncic picked up his franchise-record-tying single-season record ninth triple-double Saturday when he finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists against the Warriors. Jason Kidd previously held the Mavs’ franchise record by himself when he  finished the 1995-’96 season with nine triple-doubles. . .Doncic also became the first player in NBA history with multiple 30-point triple-doubles while playing 30 minutes or less . . . Tim Hardaway Jr. tallied 25 points in just 23 minutes against the Warriors when he was 9-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from behind the 3-point line . . . Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks against the Warriors, while Seth Curry (17 points) and Delon Wright (13 points) came off the bench to help keep the Warriors at bay . . . The Mavs are 48-111 all-time against the Lakers, including a 20-60 record during games played in Los Angeles . . . The Mavs are 1-1 against the Lakers this season. Despite 31 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists from Doncic, the Lakers beat the Mavs in Dallas, 119-110, in overtime, on Nov. 1. But the Mavs returned the favor and snapped the Lakers’ 10-game winning streak with a 114-100 victory in Los Angeles on Dec. 1 behind 27 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists from Doncic. . .This is the first time the Mavs have been as high as 11 games above .500 this season . . . The Mavs will conclude this three-game road trip Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

About the Lakers: The Lakers hit a serious bump in the road recently, but they’ve rebounded and still have the best record in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the NBA . . . The Lakers broke a four-game losing streak Saturday in Portland when they defeated the Trail Blazers, 128-120. Kyle Kuzma came off the bench to pour in a team-high 24 points in that game, LeBron James contributed 21 points, seven rebounds and 16 assists, and Anthony Davis added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Lakers shot 51.6 percent from the field and distributed 32 assists against the Blazers . . . The Laker bench outscored their Portland counterparts, by a wide 72-39 margin . . . The Lakers are 10-4 at home . . . During their season-high four-game losing streak, the Lakers lost at Indiana (105-102), at Milwaukee (111-104), and at home to Denver (128-104) and the Los Angeles Clippers (111-106) . . . Kuzma had 25 points off the bench in just 27 minutes against the Clippers. He also has been battling injuries this season, as the Lakers want him to become their consistent third scorer behind Davis and James. Kumza averages 12.4 ppg in 23.5 mpg . . . Davis leads the Lakers with 27.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 2.6 bpg . . . Although he turns 35 on Monday, James doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. Now in his 17th season, James is averaging 25.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg, and he also leads the NBA in assists with 10.8 apg . . . Dwight Howard has been very impactful for the Lakers off the bench. In 19.6 mpg, Howard is averaging 6.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg while blocking 1.4 shots per game . . . This is the opener of a five-game home stand for the Lakers. They’ll also host Phoenix on Wednesday, New Orleans on Friday, Detroit on Jan. 5, and New York on Jan. 7 on this home stand.

Twitter: @DwainPrice

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