In a matchup between division leaders, the Dallas Mavericks put their three-game winning streak on the line tonight at 7 when they hit the road to play the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
Easily the top game in the NBA tonight, the Mavs lead the Southwest Division with a 7-3 record, while the Bulls are ahead of the pack in the Central Division with a 7-3 record. Both teams will be jockeying to claim that they are indeed one of the elite teams in the NBA this season.
PREVIEW
MAVERICKS (7-3) AT CHICAGO BULLS (7-3)
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: United Center, Chicago
TV: BSSW
Radio: The Eagle, 97.1 FM; Univision 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: Starting with tonight’s game in Chicago, a lot of folks will learn a lot of things about the Mavs over the two weeks. That’s because this game starts a period where the Mavs will play six of their next seven games on the road, and all – except Friday’s encounter in San Antonio – of the games are against a formidable opponent. (The Spurs are a formidable foe, also). . .After the contest against San Antonio, the Mavs host the Denver Nuggets on Monday, play at the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19, and play at the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23. The Nuggets are currently sixth in the Western Conference and have the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player in Nikola Jokic. The Suns are fourth out West and advanced to the NBA Finals last year where they won the first two games of that best-of-seven series against the Milwaukee Bucks before losing the last four and the series. And the Clippers seventh in the West and are public enemy No. 1 in Dallas, considering the fact that they’ve ousted the Mavs from the playoffs in the first round over the past two seasons, including an epic seven-game series last year after the Mavs won the first two games in Los Angeles. . .The Mavs lead the Southwest Division and are currently the No. 3 in the West. . .The Mavs are coming off Monday’s 108-92 win at home over the New Orleans Pelicans in a game where Luka Doncic led the way with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson collected 17 points apiece.
About the Bulls: The Bulls have an All-Star in Zach Levine. Add the offseason acquisitions of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and rookie Ayo Dosumnu to the equation, and suddenly the Bulls have some mighty fine cache. Currently, the Bulls are atop the Central Division and are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference behind only the Miami Heat. . .The Bulls showed how powerful they are this past Monday when they used a 41-point explosion in the fourth quarter to completely dismantle the Brooklyn Nets, 118-95. DeRozan scored 28 points in the win over the Nets, Levine tallied 24 and Dosumnu came off the bench to add 15. A native of Chicago, Dosumnu is loudly cheered whenever he gets off the bench to enter a game. . .The Bulls have won three of their last five games. The only two losses were to the Philadelphia 76ers – 103-98 in Philly on Nov. 3 and 114-105 in Chicago this past Saturday. . .Chicago’s other loss this season was at home on Oct. 28 against the New York Knicks, 104-103. . .DeRozan leads the Bulls (26.9 pgg, 5.7 rpg, 50.3 percent from the field), followed by Levine (26.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Nikola Vucevic (13.2 ppg, 11 rpg) and Ball (11.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 40.9 percent on 3-point field goals). . .The Bulls actually believe they can do some serious damage this season and make a deep run in the playoffs. In addition to that beatdown of the Nets, the Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz, 107-99, on Oct. 30. The Jazz own the second-best record in the West.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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