Game No. 17.
Denver Nuggets at Mavericks
(7:30 p.m. Monday, American Airlines Center, Dallas)
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM (Univision 1270 AM, Spanish)
About the Mavericks (8-8): They got a much-needed day off on Sunday after five games in seven days . . . They have had some issues on the home floor, going just 2-3 in the first month of the season, including the blowout loss to Houston on Saturday night. In fact, the Mavericks’ average loss at AAC has been by 20 points . . . One of the Mavericks’ best wins this season was the 124-117 overtime success at Denver on Jan. 7. It was after that game that Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Jalen Brunson and Dwight Powell (three starters and two key backups in that game) had to go into quarantine for COVID-19 safety protocols. They have gone 4-4 since those players were sidelined (Brunson has since returned) . . . Interesting tidbit: The Mavericks have the same rating offensively and defensively, 109.6 points per 100 possessions. That ranks 18th offensively and 15th defensively in the NBA . . . Luka Dončić has terrorized the league since missing the Jan. 3 game at Chicago. In 10 games since returning, he’s averaged 27.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 11.1 assists. He’s had five triple-doubles in that span and missed three other triple-doubles by either one rebound or one assist. Clearly, he remains heavily involved in the early season talk for MVP . . . They continue to be one of the best at hanging onto the basketball, committing only 12.6 turnovers per game (third-lowest in the NBA) . . . The Mavericks have been installed as 1½-point underdogs by Bovada.
About the Nuggets (9-7): If you’re looking for the MVP frontrunner a month into the season, you might want to watch this game and pay attention to Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets’ center has averaged 25.8 points, 12 rebounds and 9.6 assists so far, as well as 1.9 steals per game. He’s rivaled Luka stat-for-stat so far and is coming off a massive 29-point, 22-rebound game in an eight-point overtime win at Phoenix on Saturday. “To be honest, I’m not surprised,” says Boban Marjanović, who like Jokic grew up in Serbia. “I expected it from him. I’ve known him since he was very, very young because we played together on the same team a long time ago. All the skill he shows now, he had then. To be honest, I expected it.” . . . The Nuggets have been relatively healthy with the exception of Michael Porter Jr., who missed 10 games while going through COVID-19 health and safety protocols. He returned two games ago . . . They have been a beast offensively, averaging nearly 117 points per game and averaging better than 27 assists per game, second in the NBA . . . Jamal Murray averages 19.5 points, but beyond him and Jokic, the Nuggets have five players (Gary Harris, Will Barton, Monte Morris, Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green) averaging between 10 and 12 points. Porter has averaged 16.5 points, but has played just six games . . . One key to watch for: the Nuggets are the best offensive rebounding team in the league, by percentage, and they were one of the best overall rebounding teams in the league, grabbing four more per game than opponents.
Twitter: @ESefko
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