Mavs-Nuggets primer: Looking for a road winning streak

DENVER – The Mavericks will try to do something Tuesday night that they have not done all season.

Win a second consecutive road game.

And also build a three-game winning streak for just the second time.

The circumstances conspiring against them, however, are considerable.

The Mavericks took care of Phoenix on Monday night in Dallas. They hopped their flight and got to Denver where they will play the Nuggets at 9 p.m., Dallas time.

It’s not the same Denver team the Mavericks split games with at American Airlines Center in November.

It’s much better. At least, on paper.

Neither Nikola Jokic nor Jamal Murray played in the first two meetings. Both of the all-stars are back and the Nuggets are smarting after Sunday’s loss at New Orleans, when they were outscored 62-46 in the second half and lost by 15 points.

But there is good news for the Mavericks. They did not have to play Luka Dončić in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 19-point win against the Suns. It was the second game in a row (the win at New York included) that Dončić caught a breather.

“Oh, yes. I’m really happy,” he said when asked if he could get used to laying low in the fourth quarters of blowout wins. “Especially going back-to-back. I like this.”

Here’s what else you need to know about Tuesday’s matchup.

• The Nuggets lost both games on their recent trip to Atlanta and New Orleans. They had won four in a row before that.
• The Mavericks have gone 9-18 in their last 27 visits to the Mile High City.
• The Nuggets are a good offensive team, sixth in total offensive rating. However, they are vulnerable on defense, giving up an average of more than 113 points per game and owning a total defensive rating that is 26^th in the NBA.
• Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is averaging 23.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game. That’s slightly off of last year’s incredible pace when he averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists.
• Mavs’ sixth man Josh Green has averaged 10 points over his last five games and has 10 assists in his last two games.
• Forward Michael Porter Jr. (16.4 points per game) is out with a heel injury. Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is questionable with a wrist injury.

• DALLAS MAVERICKS (12-11) at DENVER NUGGETS (14-9)
• When: 9 p.m., Tuesday.
• Where: Ball Arena, Denver.
• TV: Bally’s Sports Southwest, TNT.
• Radio:1 The Freak, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).
• Twitter: @ESefko