UTAH JAZZ (6-2) at Dallas Mavericks (3-3)
When: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: BSSW
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
What you need to know: For the Mavs, this is the middle game of a five-game homestand. They are 1-1 so far, but could very well be undefeated. The Mavs blew a 16-point lead with 4:14 remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday and stunningly lost to Oklahoma City, 117-111, in overtime. But the next night, the Mavs rebounded and beat the Orlando Magic, 114-105. . .After tonight, the Mavs will host Toronto on Friday and Brooklyn on Monday before jetting out for a two-game road trip to play Orlando on Nov. 9 and Washington on Nov. 10. . .Luka Doncic continues to shred defenses as if they’re not even there. The fifth-year superstar point guard tallied 44 points – despite missing six free throws – during the win over Orlando. Doncic, who already has two triple-doubles and a pair of 40-point games this season, leads the NBA in scoring with 36.7 ppg. He also has scored at least 30 points in all six games. The last person to open the season with six straight 30-point plus games was Michael Jordan in 1986. In addition, Doncic didn’t have any turnovers in the game against the Magic. The only other Mavs player to score at least 40 points with committing any turnovers in a game was Dirk Nowitzki, who accomplished that feat three times. . .Christian Wood, the Mavs’ second-leading scorer at 16.7 ppg, is questionable for tonight’s game with a non-Covid-related illness. Davis Bertans (right knee effusion) and Frank Ntilikina (right ankle effusion) are still out and hasn’t played this season because of their injury. . .Spencer Dinwiddie is averaging 16.2 ppg, and Tim Hardaway Jr. averages 14.4 ppg. . .Don’t blink now, but that Jazz team which was supposed to be in a massive rebuilt after dumping All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in trades this past offseason, has been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season. Not only has the Jazz maintained their level of winning that they experienced in recent years. But they also are in first place in the Northwest Division, and they have the third-best record in the Western Conference and the fifth-best record in the entire NBA. . .So, how are the Jazz consistently winning? By getting contributions from a group of players. Lauri Markkanen (22.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Jordan Clarkson (16.5 ppg, 5.3 apg) and Kelly Olynyk (12.9 ppg, 1.6 spg) lead the way, followed by Collin Sexton (12.5 ppg, 19.6 mpg), Malik Beasley (11.9 ppg) and Mike Conley (11.6 ppg, 7.0 apg). . .Markkanen contributed 23 points and nine rebounds during Saturday’s 124-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and added another 31 points and 11 boards during Monday’s 121-105 victory over the Grizzlies. . .This is the opener of a three-game road trip for Utah, who also play at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday and at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. The Jazz are 2-2 on the road.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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