LOS ANGELES – Josh Green is in the midst of playing the best ball of his NBA career.
Green scored 21 points last Saturday against Memphis, tallied 23 points Monday against the Grizzlies, and poured in 21 points on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. That’s the first time in his three-year career that Green has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games.
“It’s definitely cool,” Green said. “It’s a cool accomplishment to have.
“But I’m just trying to win at the end of the day. How many points that is, or whatever it is, I’ll just continue doing what I’m doing.”
What Green is doing is trying to establish himself as a consistent primary rotation player for coach Jason Kidd. The past three games certainly helped with his argument.
In last Saturday’s game at Memphis, Green was 9-of-16 from the field – 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc – and also collected 10 rebounds. During the rematch with the Grizzlies last Monday in Dallas, Green was 10-of-15 from the floor – 3-of-6 from downtown – and also picked up five boards and seven assists.
And against the Spurs, Green converted nine of his 18 field goals attempts – he was 2-of-5 from behind the three-point stripe – and grabbed seven rebounds in a career-high 45 minutes.
“He was great (against the Spurs),” Kidd said. “He did everything he could to help us win that game.”
For Green, his performances the last three games points to the hard work he’s put in. Especially considering he had a total of just 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting in the previous four games prior to his latest explosion.
“I can proudly say that I’ve worked for everything throughout my NBA career, and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Green. “I’m just going to continue to work, and hopefully more good things will happen.”
*Luka Doncic will miss his fourth straight game Friday with a left thigh strain. The Mavs are 1-2 in the recent three games Doncic has missed. Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed Wednesday’s game against San Antonio with a left calf contusion, said he’s playing in the game against the Lakers.
*This is the second of a three-game road trip for the Mavs, who opened this trip with a wild 137-128 overtime win in San Antonio this past Wednesday. The trip concludes with Monday’s game in Memphis before the Mavs return home to host the defending world champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
*The Lakers enter Friday’s game following Wednesday’s shocking 114-110 loss in Houston. However, neither LeBron James or Anthony Davis played in that game. It was the second night of a back-to-back for the Lakers, who got 35 points and 17 rebounds out of Davis during Tuesday’s 123-108 win in New Orleans. Meanwhile, James has now missed nine straight games with a right foot injury and will not be playing against the Mavs.
*Kyrie Irving (right foot soreness), JaVale McGee (right ankle sprain) and Markieff Morris (left knee soreness) are all questionable for the Laker game.
*The Mavs are sitting eighth in the Western Conference standings, exactly one game ahead of the ninth-place Lakers. The Mavs also hold a 2-1 edge over the Lakers in the season series. That prompted Mavs guard Josh Green to say: “It’s another must-win. We need to come out and play defense. We need to come out and make sure that we’re on our A-game, defensive-wise.”
*Back on Feb. 26 in Dallas, the Lakers rallied from a 27-point deficit to pull out a shocking 111-108 win over the Mavs. It was the largest comeback for a win by the Lakers in 21 years.
*The Mavs have to pay close attention to Laker forward Jarred Vanderbilt, and keep a body close to him. In the comeback win over the Mavs last month, Vanderbilt scored 15 points and pulled down eight of his career-high 17 rebounds on the offensive end of the court. During Wednesday’s loss to the Rockets, Vanderbilt contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (35-35) at LOS ANGELES LAKERS (34-36)
Time: 9:30 p.m., Friday
Place: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
TV: Bally Sports Southwest, NBA TV
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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