CHICAGO – The Dallas Mavericks will be without the services of guard Wesley Matthews on Monday when they battle the Chicago Bulls from the United Center.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
At some point during this past Saturday’s 111-96 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Matthews strained his left hamstring. The injury was so bad that Matthews didn’t make the trip to Chicago.
“Sore hamstring, it tighten up a little bit during the Oklahoma City game, so he stayed back (in Dallas),” coach Rick Carlisle said after Monday’s shootaround. “Hopefully he’ll be ready for Wednesday (when the Mavs host the Utah Jazz).”
Matthews played 31 minutes against the Thunder and finished with nine points and four assists, and was 3-of-4 from 3-point territory. Carlisle said the Mavs will miss several important ingredients by not having Matthews on the court.
“Leadership, shot-making, defense,” Carlisle said, referring to what Matthews gives his team. “It’s a big.”
Matthews’ spot in the starting lineup will likely be taken by Dorian Finney-Smith, who is in the midst of the best season of his brief three-year career. Carlisle, however, has a history of not revealing his starting lineup this early in the day.
“I don’t know exactly what the minutes are going to be,” Carlisle said. “’But Dorian is going to be playing his fair share of minutes for sure.”
Matthews is averaging 16.8 points this season and is shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
“Wesley is one guy that’s going to compete every night.” Guard J. J. Barea said. “He’s going to play his heart out.
“He’s been shooting the ball better from three, so whoever plays has got to match his energy and hopefully when we get back to Dallas he’ll be ready to go.”
Carlisle said the hope is that Matthews’ injury is not as severe as the strained hamstring injuries suffered earlier this year by Harrison Barnes and Devin Harris. Barnes missed the four preseason games and first four regular season games after straining his right hamstring in training camp, and Harris missed 10 games after straining his left hamstring opening day against the Phoenix Suns.
“We’re dealing with Mother Nature, who is temperamental,” Carlisle said. “I figured it would be better not to do the wear and tear of two flights and all that, so he’s going to stay home and get treatment.”
NOTES: The Mavs (4-8) face the Chicago Bulls (4-9) on Monday at 7 p.m. CT at the United Center. The game will be televised on FSSW and can be heard on ESPN 103.3 FM. The game also can be heard on 1270 AM (Spanish). . .Behind 20 points from Wesley Matthews and 19 from Luka Doncic, the Mavs defeated the Bulls in Dallas, 115-109, back on Oct. 22. Also in that game for the Mavs, DeAndre Jordan collected 18 points and 16 rebounds. . .The Mavs are 39-36 all-time against the Bulls, including a 17-20 record in games played in Chicago. . .The Mavs enter Monday’s game fresh off Saturday’s huge 111-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, who, at the time, had the NBA’s longest winning streak at seven games in a row. Doncic led all scorers with 22 points and also contributed six rebounds and eight assists. . .The Bulls come in after slipping by Cleveland this past Saturday, 99-98. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists. .Matthews is listed as doubtful for Monday’s game with a strained left hamstring. The injury apparently occurred at some point during the win over Oklahoma City. . .The plaudits just keep on coming for 19-year old forward Luka Doncic. The rookie from Slovenia has now scored the most points (244) for a teenager through the first 12 games in NBA history, snapping the record held by Dajuan Wagner (233). Doncic also has seven 20-point games as he joins Kyrie Irving as the only teenager to produce that many 20-point games during the first 12 games of their career. Doncic is averaging a team-high 20.3 ppg and is second on the Mavs in both rebounds (6.5 rpg) and assists (4.5 apg). . .Jordan is third in the NBA in rebounding with 13.5 rpg. James Donaldson owns the highest single-season rebounding average in Mavs history at 11.9 rpg. Donaldson achieved that number during the 1986-’87 season. . .Following Monday’s game the Mavs will return home and host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. It will be the third time – in their first 14 games – that the Mavs will have faced the Jazz this season.
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