Game No. 10.

Mavericks at Charlotte Hornets

(6 p.m. Saturday, Spectrum Center, Charlotte)

TV: Fox Sports Southwest

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

About the Mavericks (5-4): They are going to have to make this up as they go along with at least five players scheduled to miss the game because of health and safety protocols. Josh Richardson, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell and Jalen Brunson all are listed as out . . . On the bright side, Kristaps Porzingis is set to make his season debut after October knee surgery. The 7-3 center/forward is listed as a probable starter, along with Luka Dončić, Tim Hardaway Jr., Willie Cauley-Stein and Josh Green . . . They have won three in a row at Charlotte, but the Hornets already have won at American Airlines Center this season, 118-99, on Dec. 30. The road team has won nine of the last 11 meetings . . . Dončić was named the NBA’s Western Conference player of the week after averaging 30.3 points, 12 rebounds and 11.3 assists in three games last week. He had two triple-doubles and missed a third by one rebound . . . This is the start of a two-game trip that concludes in Milwaukee on Friday . . . The Mavericks were supposed to have played New Orleans on Monday, but the game was postponed because of health and safety protocol issues . . . The Mavericks are favored by four points, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.

About the Hornets (6-5): They have won four games in a row and have allowed only 99.3 points per game during that streak . . . Gordon Hayward is coming off a 34-point outing in a 109-88 win over New York and is averaging better than 22 points per game . . . The Hornets appear to have a star in the making in LaMelo Ball, who recently became the youngest player in NBA history to notch a triple-double and also had eight points, seven assists and 14 rebounds in the win over New York. He’s averaging 12.4 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 11 games, coming off the bench in each . . . The Hornets are ninth in the league in defensive efficiency and also lead the league in assists at more than 28 per game . . . Opponents are shooting just 33 percent against them from 3-point range, fourth worst in the league . . . In the first meeting, Ball had 22 points and eight rebounds while Miles Bridges had 20 points and 16 boards. The Hornets outrebounded the Mavericks 50-39 . . . Point guard Terry Rozier is averaging 19.5 points and shooting 43.5 percent from 3-point range.

Twitter: @ESefko

Share and comment

More Mavs News