The Dallas Mavericks are in search of consistency as they hit the road to face the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. It marks the start of a four-game road trip for Dallas, a team struggling to regain momentum since their blockbuster trade last month that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
While Davis is nearing a return from a left adductor strain he suffered in his Dallas debut, the Mavericks (34-37) continue to battle injury woes and are looking to secure consecutive wins for the first time in over a month.
Since Davis’ injury on February 8 in a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets, the Mavericks have been in disarray, going 6-12. To make matters worse, star guard Kyrie Irving is out for the season with a torn ACL, while Dereck Lively II (ankle) and Daniel Gafford (knee) remain sidelined.
Davis, along with Lively and Gafford, has been rehabbing with the G League’s Texas Legends, with hopes of returning at some point during this road trip.
Despite the injury woes, the Mavericks avoided a fifth straight loss on Friday by defeating the Detroit Pistons 123-117. They shot 52.5% from the field, marking the third straight game shooting over 50%.
Key performances came from Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored a season-best 31 points, and P.J. Washington, who added 27 points on an efficient 56.9% shooting over his past three games.
The Brooklyn Nets (23-48) have the NBA’s fifth worst record and are struggling to gain traction despite playing eight of their final 11 games at home. The Nets have endured a 3-14 skid over their last 17 games, including several narrow losses.
Brooklyn nearly erased a 20-point deficit before falling 108-103 to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. Reserve Trendon Watford led the way with a season-high 26 points, while Cameron Johnson added 20 points, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter alone.
Coach Jordi Fernandez praised the effort despite the loss:
