Preview: Mavs hoping to win season series against Warriors

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (43-19) AT MAVERICKS (37-25)

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Place: American Airlines Center, Dallas

TV: BSSW

Radio: The Eagle, 99.1 FM; Univision 99.1 FM (Spanish)

About the Mavericks: The Mavs only have 20 games remaining in the regular season – 10 at home and 10 on the road. As of now, the Mavs are 20-11 at AAC, and that’s where they start a four-game home stand tonight against the Warriors. The home stand also includes games Saturday against the Sacramento Kings, Monday against the Utah Jazz and Wednesday against the New York Knicks. . .After Tuesday’s 109-104 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavs are an impressive 21-7 since Dec. 31. The Mavs shot 50 percent from the field against the Lakers, while the Lakers converted just 45.1 percent of their field goals. The Mavs are 29-0 this season when their field goal percentage is higher than their opponents, and 15-0 when they shoot 50 percent or better from the floor. . .In his first game since turning 23 on Monday, Luka Doncic finished the game against the Lakers with 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks. He also provided one of the best dunks of this NBA season when he skied over Laker center Dwight Howard in the first half and powered home a tomahawk dunk off an offensive rebound. . .Also against the Lakers, Jalen Brunson was 4-of-6 from downtown and collected 22 points, Dorian Finney-Smith was 3-of-7 from three-point land and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie produced 14 points and nine assists, and Dwight Powell had 13 points and seven boards. . .How good were the Mavs’ down the stretch defensively against the Lakers? After Russell Westbrook scored on a driving layup to put the Lakers ahead, 100-94, with 7:23 remaining in the game, the Mavs outscored LA, 15-4. During that stretch, the Mavs were 6-of-9 from the field and the Lakers were just 2-of-9 and committed three turnovers. . .The Mavs are 12 games over .500 for the first time since they were 40-28 on May 9 of last season. The last time the Mavs were 13 games over .500 was last May 14 when they were 42-29 following a 114-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors. . .The Mavs just staged their largest comeback of the season Sunday when they rallied from a 21-point deficit to shock the Warriors in San Francisco, 107-101. The Warriors led, 73-52, with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter. The Warriors also were up by 19 points early in the fourth quarter, only to see the Mavs outscore them, 26-1, during an eight-minute stretch of the final period. . .The Mavs also beat the Warriors, 99-82, in Dallas on Jan. 5. That’s the fewest amount of points the Warriors have scored in a game this season. . .The Warriors got revenge by defeating the Mavs in San Francisco, 130-92, on Jan. 25.

About the Warriors: These are not exactly the best of times for the Warriors, who come to Dallas packing six losses in their last eight games. In addition to Sunday’s six-point loss to the Mavs – when Golden State blew a 21-point lead — the Warriors lost at Utah (111-85) on Feb. 9, and lost at home to the New York Knicks (116-114) on Feb. 10. The Warriors’ recent downward spiral also includes a 119-104 defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 14, a 117-116 buzzer-beating loss at home to the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 16, and Tuesday’s 129-114 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. . .The last time the Warriors were in such a rut was from Jan. 5-20 when they dropped six of nine games. And that losing trend started when they scored a season-low 82 points during a 17-point loss in Dallas. . .Of course, the Warriors can point to playing without Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala as the primary reasons they haven’t been able to put things together lately. Thompson has missed the past two games with a non-Covid-19 illness and could play tonight. Green, meanwhile, has been sidelined the past 24 games with a disc injury, and Iguodala has missed the last six games with tightness in his lower back. . .The absence of Thompson — he’s listed as questionable for tonight’s game — Green and Iguodala has placed a lot more pressure on Stephen Curry. Still, the Warriors know the NBA is a next man up league as every team is dealing with some sort of injury or ailment. . .Curry responded admirably in the loss against the Timberwolves with 34 points, but he was only 5-16 from three-point range. Five other Warriors scored 10 or more points, although Andrew Wiggins – who was a first-time All-Star (and started in last month’s All-Star game) scored just 12 points on 5-of-13 shots. . .The problem against the Timberwolves was the Warriors turned the ball over 17 times. Also, Minnesota shot 52.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range (16-of-40), while Golden State was just 13-of-45 from downtown for 28.9 percent. . .The 129 points the Timberwolves scored are the most the Warriors have allowed in a game this season. . .Despite their recent failures, the Warriors still own the second-best record in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the NBA. However, they’re only half-a-game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies. In fact, if the Mavs defeat the Warriors tonight and if Memphis wins tonight’s game in Boston, the Grizzlies will move into the No. 2 seed out West.

Twitter: @DwainPrice