The Dallas Mavericks (50-32) will look to take home court advantage Sunday afternoon when they face the Los Angeles Clippers (51-31) in Game 1 of the first round of the Western Conference series. The game will take place at the crypto.com Arena and is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. E.T.
The Mavericks lost to Oklahoma City 135-86 and are trailing by 19.5 points. The Clippers lost to Houston 116-105, losing by 4.5 points.
Dallas and Los Angeles have split their last 10 meetings. Los Angeles won the regular season series, 2 wins and 1 loss.
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Mavericks trying to end two-game losing streak
The Mavericks ended the season with two straight losses, largely due to resting most of their starting pitchers. They will be hoping the rest pays off as they get a win against a team that has lost twice in three regular season games.
Dallas averages 117.9 points per game. In his last game, he scored 86 points on 33 percent shooting from the field and 20.5 percent from 3-point range.
Luka Doncic was the Mavericks' leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game. Kyrie Irving averaged 25.6 points, 5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, while Tim Hardaway Jr. averaged 14.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Dallas has struggled defensively this season, allowing 115.6 points per game. They conceded 135 points in their last game and will have to do a better job if they want to win this game.
Clippers looking to end three-game losing streak
The Clippers did not play well at the end of the regular season and enter this game on a three-game losing streak. They will look to end their winning streak with a win on Sunday and take the lead in the series with their third straight win over the Mavericks.
Los Angeles averages 115.6 points per game. In their last game, they scored 105 points and shot 39.4 percent from the field and 21.6 percent from 3-point range.
Kawhi Leonard was Los Angeles' leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Paul George averaged 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while James Harden averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists.
Los Angeles struggled defensively, allowing 112.3 points per game. They allowed 116 points in their last game and will need to play better to come away with a win.
Kawhi Leonard (knee) is questionable for this game.
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evaluation:
The Clippers have won four of their past seven games. They played aggressively at home, scoring over 115 points per game. They also performed well at the charity stripe, making over 82 percent of their free throws. They are good at rebounding the ball, grabbing over 15 offensive rebounds per game in the last three games, so expect them to have a lot of chances to score extra points in this game. They will also cut down on turnovers and won't give the Mavericks too many easy scoring opportunities. The Mavericks aren't very good on defense, giving up over 116 points per game on the road, so expect them to have a hard time slowing down the Clippers in this game.
The Mavericks have lost two straight and have split their last four road games. They have struggled offensively in recent games, scoring fewer than 100 points per game in their last three games. They can't rebound the ball as well as the Clippers and you won't get many chances to score extra points against them. They were also careless with the ball, which could lead to easy scoring opportunities for the Clippers, who have averaged more than 10 steals per game over the past three games. The Clippers have played well defensively at home and will likely keep Dallas' offense in check. Let's cover the spread of infection together with Los Angeles.
Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers -1.5
full game total pick
evaluation:
The Mavericks are averaging 117.9 points per game and 117 points per game on the road. He averaged 114.3 points per game in his last three games with the Clippers. They play at a fast pace, averaging 103.3 possessions per game, and will be expected to be below average in this game as they face a team that concedes 112.3 points per game at home. The Clippers are averaging 115.6 points per game and 115.3 points per game at home. In his last three games against the Mavericks, he averaged 117.6 points per game. They are playing at a slow pace, averaging 100.6 possessions per game, and are playing against a team that has conceded 111.3 points per game in their last three games, so don't expect them to score much more than their total points. . The Clippers and Mavericks have played below that total in seven of their last eight meetings.
Prediction: Less than
