MAVERICKS (47-29) AT CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (42-33)
Time: 6 p.m., Wednesday.
Place: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
TV: BSSW
Radio: The Eagle, 97.1 FM; Univision 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: Thanks to Tuesday’s easy wire-to-wire 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavs have moved to within a game of the Golden State Warriors (48-28) for the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed. . .And thanks to the Los Angeles Clippers rallying from a 25-point deficit to defeat Utah on Tuesday, the Mavs are two games ahead of the Jazz (45-31) for the No. 4 seed and the all-important home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. . .By the way, just in case the Mavs and Warriors finish the regular season with identical record, the higher playoff seed will go to the Mavs because they won the season series against the Warriors, 3-1. . .The magic number for the Mavs to clinch a playoff spot – at least the No. 6 spot – is two. Any combination of wins by the Mavs and losses by the Minnesota Timberwolves that equal two will clinch a playoff berth. . .This is the opener of a four-game trip for the Mavs. The trip also includes games on Friday against the Washington Wizards, Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks and April 6 against the Detroit Pistons before the Mavs return home to close out the regular season on April 8 against the Portland Trail Blazers and April 10 against the San Antonio Spurs. . .Luka Doncic picked up his 10th triple-double of the season and the 46th of his career Tuesday when he picked apart the Lakers for 34 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in just 30 minutes of work. Also for the Mavs against the Lakers, Reggie Bullock converted 5-of-8 shots from three-point land 
and finished with 17 points. . .In their only meeting with the Cavs this season, the Mavs lost at home to Cleveland, 114-96, back on Nov. 29. And that came despite a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists from Doncic.
About the Cavaliers: Since sprinting out to an impressive 35-21 record and being one of the darlings of the NBA following a 120-113 victory over Indiana on Feb. 11, the Cavs have only produced a pedestrian-like 7-12 record. . .Most of the Cavs’ misery are the result of key injuries. Center Jarrett Allen, who played just one season of college ball at Texas in 2016-17 before becoming the 22nd overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, has missed the past 11 games with a fracture of his left middle finger. Allen made the All-Star team this season for the first time. . .Shooting guard Collin Sexton (left knee surgery) and point guard Ricky Rubio (torn left anterior cruciate ligament) are out for the season. And point guard Rajon Rondo has missed the past eight games with a right sprained ankle. . .Another key player was added to that dubious injury list Monday when Cavs rookie sensation center Evan Mobley sprained his left ankle during the 107-101 victory over the Orlando Magic. The No. 3 overall pick in last summer’s draft, Mobley is averaging 14.9 ppg and 8.3 rpg. . .The Mavs will likely get a look at center Moses Brown tonight. Remember him? The Mavs acquired Brown from the Boston Celtics last summer in a trade for Josh Richardson. But on Feb. 10, the Mavs waived Brown, which freed up a roster spot and enabled Dallas to trade Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Brown signed his second 10-day contract with the Cavs on March 21. In seven games with the Cavs, Brown averages 2.6 ppg and 1.9 rpg in 5.4 mpg. . .The Cavs are guaranteed of finishing this year with their first winning season in four years, and the first time they’ve had a winning season without LeBron James on their roster since the 1997-’98 campaign. . .Point guard Darius Garland made the All-Star team this year and is averaging 21.5 ppg and 8.6 apg.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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