Watch Lakers @ Mavericks live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Saturday morning (2:45am)
Friday 10 January 2020 23:58, UK
LeBron James and Luka Doncic face off for the fourth and final time this season as the Los Angeles Lakers face the Dallas Mavericks, live on Sky Sports.
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The Mavericks and the Lakers could both be without key players for this clash.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis took a hard fall against the visiting New York Knicks on Tuesday night and sustained a contusion to his gluteus maximus. Davis is with the team on the two-game trip but is listed as questionable against the Mavericks as Los Angeles search for their seventh straight win.
Davis leads the Lakers in scoring (27.1), rebounding (9.4) and blocked shots (2.6).
"I hope he gets better soon. We need him," Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after the win against the Knicks. "He is a real big piece to our team."
The Mavericks have played their past five games without 7ft 3in forward Kristaps Porzingis (right knee soreness), who is second on the team in scoring (17.3), rebounding (7.6) and leads in blocks (2.1).
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Porzingis is improving but doesn't know when he'll return.
Porzingis hasn't played since totaling 11 points and seven rebounds in a 108-95 win by the Lakers in Los Angeles on December 29.
"Until he is back, there is no point in talking about what we're missing with him not being out there," Carlisle said. "A lot of teams are going through health issues right now and he is doing better all the time. There is nothing imminent on him, but he is doing better."
Both teams still have plenty of talent to rely on.
Dallas forward Luka Doncic is third in the NBA in scoring (29.6) and assists (9.0) while averaging 9.7 rebounds a game.
Lakers forward LeBron James is averaging 25.1 points, a league-leading 10.8 assists and 7.8 rebounds. James was dealing with flu-like symptoms on Thursday, but he is listed as probable to play against the Mavericks.
Los Angeles have also been getting solid support from Caldwell-Pope, who is shooting 43.3 per cent from three-point range, good for 11th-best in the NBA entering Thursday night's slate of games.
Caldwell-Pope made 3-of-4 from three-point distance against the Knicks, putting him at 17-for-28 in the past eight games.
He made 4-of-5 against the visiting Mavericks in a 108-95 win on December 29.
"Just staying ready, being ready to shoot when my team-mates have the ball," Caldwell-Pope told reporters. "Just being in the position for them to see me and get me the ball."
Dallas is 2-3 since the loss to the Lakers with all three losses coming by five points or fewer.
The Mavericks lost 107-106 to the visiting Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
"We have just got to tighten things up and we've got to be better," Carlisle said. "We have a tendency to get loose at times, and with the way the games are today in the NBA with so many close ones, you can give points away."
Dallas has two games remaining in their season-long six-game homestand. The Mavericks host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Getting better consistency from their outside shooters could help them end the homestand with a winning record.
Seth Curry made all five of his three-pointers in a 123-111 win against the Brooklyn Nets in the opener of the homestand on January 2, then missed all eight of his attempts over the next two games.
Tim Hardaway Jr missed the first two games of the homestand with a hamstring injury, returned to make 3-of-4 from long range in a 118-110 win against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, but was 3-for-9 from deep in the loss to the Nuggets.
Doncic had a straightforward solution.
"Practice shots," he said. "And make them."
Watch Lakers @ Mavericks live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Saturday morning (2:45am)
