Dallas Mavericks host Brooklyn Nets live on Sky Sports
Watch Brooklyn Nets @ Dallas Mavericks live on Sky Sports Action and Mix (Sky channel 145) in the early hours of Friday morning (1:30am)
Friday 3 January 2020 04:43, UK
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks host the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center in the early hours of Friday morning, live on Sky Sports.
Live NBA: Brooklyn @ Dallas
The Nets (16-16) have done an admirable job of holding their own through multiple key injuries this season, but the long-term absences of Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert may have finally started to take a toll.
Brooklyn head to Dallas with a 1-4 record over their last five games. Their most recent stumble came against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who toppled them 122-115 in overtime on Monday night.
Spencer Dinwiddie paced the Nets with 36 points, complementing them with eight assists, five rebounds and one steal. Joe Harris poured in 19 points, adding seven rebounds and one assist.
The Nets will continue without Irving (shoulder), LeVert (thumb) and Nicholas Claxton (hamstring) on Thursday. Garrett Temple (knee) will carry a questionable tag.
The Mavericks (21-12) have not been playing their best basketball of late, either, as they've dropped four of their past seven games. Dallas' most recent loss came at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who rallied late in the game to record a 111-106 win on Tuesday night.
Luka Doncic paced the Mavericks with a 35-point, 10-rebound double-double that also included seven assists. Maxi Kleber posted 14 points, 14 rebounds and two assists. Dwight Powell delivered 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
The Mavericks list Kristaps Porzingis (knee) as questionable to face the Nets. Tim Hardaway Jr (hamstring) and Ryan Broekhoff (leg) will both be out.
Thursday's game marks the first of two 2019-20 meetings between the teams. Brooklyn and Dallas split the two-game 2018-19 season series.
Last time out
Numbers game
48.9 - That's the average number of rebounds per game hauled down collectively by the Nets. It is the second-highest mark in the league.
A large percentage of those boards come courtsey of centers Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan, both of whom are averaging more than 10 rebounds each time out. That interior strength is also reflected in the Nets' scoring where they rank fourth overall in points scored in the paint per game (51.1).
One to watch (Nets): Joe Harris
The Nets struggle with their collective three-point shooting (they rank third-worst for the season) which places even greater emphasis on Harris' accuracy from downtown.
Harris - who won the three-point shooting contest at the 2019 All-Star Weekend - has started every game for the Nets this year and is draining 2.7 three-pointers a game. He is making them at a 43 per clip, some 10 per cent higher than the team's overall three-point percentage.
One to watch (Mavericks): Maxi Kleber
The 6ft 10in German forward Kleber stepped up in Porzingis' absence against Oklahoma City, recording a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double and making 4-of-9 shots from three-point land.
Will he be able to be as productive on the glass against the aggressive Allen and Jordan?
