Slumping Mavericks face tough test against Wall, streaky Wizards
Mavericks at Wizards
6:30 p.m. Verizon Center, Washington, DC
TV: FSSW
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM; Univision 1270 AM (Spanish)
Records: Mavericks 28-38, Wizards 41-25
About the Mavericks: Wednesday’s game against the Wizards is the second of a snow-driven four-game East Coast trip. Dallas opened this trip in unimpressive fashion on Monday when it was blown out by the Toronto Raptors 100-78. ... The Mavericks have dropped their past five road games and are 8-23 on the road this season. ... The struggles for guard Seth Curry continue. In the past two games against Phoenix and Toronto, Curry is three of 16 from the field with eight points, six rebounds and three assists in 65 minutes. ... Wesley Matthews strained his right calf against the Raptors, and Nerlens Noel missed the past three games with a sore left knee. ... The Mavericks are three-and-a-half games behind Denver for the final playoff spot out West and are on a two-game losing streak. The Mavericks beat the Wizards 113-105 on Jan. 3.
About the Wizards: One of the hottest teams in the NBA in recent weeks, the Wizards have the third-best record in the East and the seventh-best record in the league. ... The Wizards have the NBA’s’ fourth-best home record at 26-9. ... John Wall was the Eastern Conference Player of the Week last week after averaging 29.8 points per game and 11.3 assists per game and shooting 57.1 percent from the field while leading the Wizards to four wins on the road in four cities in a five-night span. Wall produced three double-doubles last week, and also had 39 points and nine assists in a victory over Portland. ... Wall averages 23.1 ppg and is second in the league in assists (10.7) and steals (1.95). ... With their four wins last week, the Wizards became the first NBA team to ever be 15 games over .500 after starting the season with a 2-8 record or worse. ... The Wizards lost at Minnesota (119-104) on Monday.
This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Slumping Mavericks face tough test against Wall, streaky Wizards."