The Dallas Mavericks go for their sixth straight win when they visit the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.
Dallas won for the ninth time in 10 games when they defeated the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 on Tuesday night to advance to the knockout round of the NBA Cup.
The Wizards have lost 15 straight games after an 118-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that left visiting Washington 0-4 in Cup play and eliminated in the group stage for the second straight season.
The Mavericks had more turnovers (11) than made baskets (10) in the third quarter against the Grizzlies but rallied from a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit for the win.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 16 points off the bench and hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Dallas a 116-111 lead with 1:09 left as the Mavericks ended the game on a 15-5 run. Dinwiddie hit 5 of 10 shots in 25 minutes, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Dallas won despite 25 turnovers and 14 missed free throws.
“I thought the group did a great job of staying together,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “There was a lot of positivity on the bench. We just kept fighting. (We had) a lot of turnovers — things that we haven’t been doing. But the team stayed together.”
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 37 points, giving him 73 in his past two games, and added 12 rebounds with four steals. He shot 11 of 22 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. P.J. Washington scored 18 points, and Dereck Lively II had 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
“We can fight, and we know we can fight,” Lively said. “We all lean on each other to try to play the best we can.”
The Wizards did not put up much of a fight against the Cavaliers, suffering their most lopsided loss in a season of losses. Washington is one loss away from tying the franchise record of 16 straight defeats (set twice, most recently last season.)
Jonas Valanciunas, Jordan Poole and rookie Bub Carrington scored 13 points for Washington, and Valanciunas also grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Washington committed eight first-quarter turnovers and trailed 35-20 after 12 minutes. The Wizards cut the deficit to 10 in the second quarter before the Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run.
“The first quarter they came out and hit us in the mouth,” Wizards coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought we fought back at the start of the second quarter.”
The Wizards shot 38.6 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from 3-point range while committing 21 turnovers.
“We probably played in crowds too much,” Keefe said, “and then we did miss some wide-open shots.”
In addition to the loss, Washington was banged up as well. Rookie forward Kyshawn George and guard Corey Kispert each sustained sprained left ankles in the second quarter and were ruled out. Guard Malcolm Brogdon exited in the third with right knee soreness.
The Mavericks took both meetings between the teams in 2023-24, winning 130-117 in Washington behind 31 points from Tim Hardaway Jr., and then 112-104 in Dallas as Doncic and Kyrie Irving each scored 26 points.
–Field Level Media
