MAVERICKS (3-1) at DENVER NUGGETS (2-2)
Time: 9 p.m.
Place: Ball Arena, Denver.
TV: Bally Sports Southwest, ESPN.
Radio: The Eagle 97.1 FM; Zona MX 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: One sure thing, we think, is that this game won’t be nearly as weird as the one the Mavericks played Thursday night. They fell behind 16-1 and 23-3. They then led 30-29 and finally won 104-99 . . . Maxi Kleber was one of the heroes with 12 points, 10 rebounds and career-best-tying six blocks. It was the seventh double-double of his career . . . They got great mileage out of the bench crew of Willie Cauley-Stein, Jalen Brunson, Frank Ntilikina, Reggie Bullock and Kleber, who got a lead while the starters rested . . . Kristaps Porzingis is listed as questionable with lower back tightness. He will be re-evaluated Friday before the game . . . Sterling Brown (ankle sprain) is listed as day-to-day . . . The Mavericks are trying to reach 4-1 for the first time since the 2012-13 season . . . They won both meetings in Denver last season and have a three-game winning streak on the road against the Nuggets . . . Luka Dončić has led the Mavericks in scoring all four games so far. He had 18 of his 25 points in the second half Thursday, including eight in a row down the stretch as the Mavericks stretched their lead. To say the least, this first back-to-back of the season is a challenging one. “It’s tough, flying to Denver,” Kleber said. “But we got to do the same thing, just come up with a lot of energy and play hard.” The Mavericks have shown some defensive chops, too, holding the last three opponents to 44.3-percent shooting or worse.
About the Nuggets: They haven’t played since Tuesday, when they lost 122-110 at Utah. In that game, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic suffered a right knee contusion and he is considered questionable. The Nuggets already are without high-scoring Jamal Murray, who is recovering from ACL surgery . . . If they don’t have Jokic’s 26.8 points and 13.5 rebounds, they will rely on Will Barton (16.3 points), Aaron Gordon (13) and Michael Porter Jr. (11). Last season, Porter averaged 19 points and shot 44.5 percent from 3-point land . . . Much like the Mavericks, they have had a lukewarm start offensively from the 3-point line, shooting just 33.3 percent through four games (17th in the league). However, their overall shooting percentage of 48.8 is tops in the NBA . . . The Nuggets held their first three opponents this season to under 100 points before the Jazz went crazy on them Tuesday . . . While the Mavericks are big on Browns (Sterling and Moses), the Nuggets are more of a Green team (Jeff and JaMychal) . . . Backup guard Facundo Campazzo was a teammate of Luka Dončić with Real Madrid in 2017-18, the season before the Mavericks acquired Dončić.
Twitter: @ESefko
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