The Dallas Mavericks (19-16, 14-5 Home), one of the NBA’s top scoring defenses, host the Houston Rockets (10-24, 4-14 Away) on Thursday. Houston was outplayed by the Boston Celtics 126-102 at TD Garden on Tuesday. With 28 points, Jalen Green was the scoring leader in defeat.
Kevin Porter Jr. was another key contributor with 22 points and nine assists. The Rockets are the 15th seed in the Western Conference. Dallas won their fourth in a row on Tuesday at American Airlines Center, beating the New York Knicks 126-121 in overtime.
Luka Doncic had a triple double with 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the team. The Mavericks are the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The teams are meeting for the final time this season. Houston and Dallas have split their two matchups this season.
The Mavericks got the win in the most recent meeting, beating the Rockets 112-106 at Toyota Center on Friday. Doncic led the Mavericks with 50 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. had 24 points in defeat.
The Rockets have been led this season by Green and Porter Jr., who are averaging 21.6 and 19.3 points per game, respectively. Porter Jr. also has dished 5.7 assists per game. Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun is grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game.
Doncic (33.6 ppg) has powered the Mavs’ offense. He has the second-best scoring average in the NBA. Doncic has also stuffed the stat sheet with 8.8 assists, fourth-most in the league, and 8.7 rebounds per game.Holding opponents to 109.9 points per game, the Mavericks are one of the top scoring defenses in the league (5th).
The Rockets have had the advantage in the last 10 visits to American Airlines Center, winning seven. Dallas is pursuing a fourth straight win at home this season.
Houston is 3-7 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -4.5 (107.6-112.1). Dallas has gone 6-4 over the last 10, allowing 113.0 points per game on average while scoring only 112.7 (-0.3 margin).
ROCKETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Eric Gordon: 8.3 | 11.5 | -3.1
Assists per game:
Jalen Green: 2.4 | 3.6 | -1.2
MAVERICKS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Kemba Walker: 9.3 | 16.3 | -7.0
Points per game:
Kemba Walker: 6.3 | 10.8 | -4.5
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Dallas Mavericks -10.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
