After two big wins over playoff-bound clubs, the Dallas Mavericks were knocked down a peg in deflating fashion. Going to the struggling Utah Jazz on Wednesday night ought to provide an opportunity to bounce back before matching up with another one of the NBA's elite.
The Mavericks (38-27) had knocked off fifth-place Portland and East-leading Indiana Friday and Sunday, respectively. However, they couldn't knock off a third straight team in front of them in the standings, falling 108-85 at Golden State on Tuesday. Dallas is percentage points behind Memphis for seventh in the West and one game in front of Phoenix.
"I don't think we're in a situation to think about seeding," said Jose Calderon, who committed six turnovers after totaling seven over his previous seven games. "I think right now we're in a situation where we've got to win every game."
The Mavericks shot 36.6 percent from the field for their second-lowest mark of the season. Dirk Nowitzki scored only 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting, while Shawn Marion was 0 for six.
Dallas knocked off Indiana despite a 3-for-14 performance from Nowitzki, though it relied on a bench that outscored the Pacers 41-4, including 20 points from Devin Harris. Harris left within the second quarter of Tuesday's contest with a sore right Achilles, and the Mavericks' reserves were outscored 50-37.
Dallas will hope for a better offensive showing in comparison to the Jazz, against whom Nowitzki is averaging 26.1 points over his last 19 contests. Monta Ellis has also scored 27.9 per game on 54.5 percent shooting in his last seven against Utah.
The Mavericks have won 10 of 13 in the series and were 17 of 35 from 3-point range in two victories this season, though they've dropped three straight in Utah.
After playing the Jazz (22-42) -- who're tied with Sacramento and also the Los Angeles Lakers for last devote the West -- Dallas will face another tough test Sunday if this faces Oklahoma City, that is one-half behind West-leading San Antonio.
Utah has lost six of seven and it is allowing 106.0 points per game on 51.3 percent shooting over its previous five after previously quitting 100.3 and 46.1 for the season.
The Jazz a break down 112-110 home loss to Atlanta on Monday, with former Utah players Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap combining for 49 points. Utah trailed by as much as 17 in the first half, then led entering the final quarter after outscoring the Hawks 36-19 within the third period, but Atlanta pulled away again.
Despite a narrow loss to their lone challenger within the Atlantic, the Toronto Raptors stay in control of their destiny as they pursue their second division title.
The sputtering Detroit Pistons will probably have to resolve their road woes to find themselves in the postseason for the first time in five years. Toronto searches for its 15th home victory in 19 tries Wednesday night if this hosts Detroit.
The Raptors (35-27) had won nine of 11 just before Monday's 101-94 loss at second-place Brooklyn, trimming their result in three games. Toronto was 6 of 23 from 3-point range after shooting 43.2 percent from deep over its previous six games. The Raptors, who haven't reached the playoffs since 2008 and won their only division title a year earlier, had hit 10 or more 3-pointers four times during that six-game stretch.
Kyle Lowry scored 21 while DeMar DeRozan only agreed to be 3 for 9 with 14 points. "It was playoff type of basketball with physicality. I've said hello forever that we have to get ready to play that type of basketball," coach Dwane Casey said. "We had three big time turnovers because they got into us at the end of the game."
A return home for three games should serve the Raptors well. They've won 14 of 18 in Toronto after starting the season 4-8 there.
Toronto will be searching for its fourth win in five meetings with Detroit (25-39) following a 112-91 home victory on Jan. 8. Lowry's 21 points led four players with a minimum of 16. DeRozan scored 19 on 3-of-15 shooting but was 13 of 16 from the free-throw line.
That marked the last loss during a season-worst six-game skid for that Pistons, who avoided a fourth straight loss and won for that fourth time in 14 games having a 99-89 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday. Josh Smith scored 24 while Rodney Stuckey added 23 to help Detroit move within three games of eighth-place Atlanta.
However, Detroit continues to be 8-16 over its last 24, with only two of those victories coming against teams over .500. The Pistons also have dropped nine straight on the highway since beating Washington on Jan. 18. It's their longest road slide since losing 11 consecutively from Feb. 23-April 5, 2011, with opponents shooting 49.9 percent and scoring 112 or even more seven times for the reason that span.
The Philadelphia 76ers continue to inch closer to a long losing streak in team history.
If their recent efforts from the Sacramento Kings are any indication, they may be able to finally end their woes Wednesday night.
Hoping to avoid an 18th consecutive loss, the 76ers go for an 11th win in 12 games against the Kings.It's been 6 weeks since Philadelphia (15-48) last tasted victory, a stretch where it's been outscored by 19.0 points per game. The skid may be the 76ers' longest since dropping a franchise-worst 20 straight in 1972-73.
"I am trying not to think about it," rookie Michael Carter-Williams said following Monday's 123-110 loss at New York. "We lose and we need to move on to the next one. I can not dwell on us losing 17 consecutively. It's not doing nothing for me, it's not doing nothing for the team, coaching staff, nobody.
"People are covering it and that's fine, but we will stay focused as a team."
Carter Williams recorded his second triple-double with 23 points, a season-high 13 rebounds and 10 assists."People are likely to see the numbers, and the numbers are the numbers," coach Brett Brown said.
Apart from Carter-Williams' play, Philadelphia has reason to become excited with Sacramento coming to town. The 76ers have won 10 of 11 within the series, taking the last four meetings by typically 14.8 points.
Thaddeus Young led the way with 28 points and Tony Wroten scored 21 from the bench as Philadelphia brought out a 113-104 victory in Sacramento on Jan. 2.
The Kings (22-42) want to avoid a fourth straight loss after falling 99-89 at Detroit . They took a two-point lead into halftime before scoring 11 points in the third, their fewest in any quarter this season."We lost that game in the third quarter," coach Michael Malone said. "We did not come out ready to play."
Sacramento, shooting 23.1 percent from 3-point range on the five-game stretch, went 3 for 15 from past the arc. The Kings also struggled from the foul line, going 6 of 17 in the second half.
"We just make too many small mistakes throughout the game," center DeMarcus Cousins said. "We're making things way too hard on ourselves. They came to play, and they managed to get tough for us, but we're hurting ourselves."
There was a time the Denver Nuggets might have been relieved to have a stretch of 5 games against Eastern Conference opponents, but everything has gone so far south that no game is being penciled in as a win.
Denver's five-game trip against the East continues Wednesday night having a visit to the Orlando Magic, and Nuggets coach Brian Shaw is urging his players to change their mindset.
"We have to learn to respect everyone, whether he's a starter or coming from the bench," Shaw said after his team lost 105-98 Monday in Charlotte.
Denver (27-36) has lost eight of nine on the road and been outscored by 16.0 points per game in those contests. It also has dropped six of seven against the East, including the first two games of this trip. Shaw saw an overall effort indicative of the end result against the Bobcats.
"We didn't seem to get engaged in the sport until the end when we were trying to scramble and come back," Shaw told the team's official website. "The game was in the balance all night long and we couldn't seem to get over the hump. They provided the plays that they need to make down the stretch and that we didn't."
Ty Lawson scored a team-high 24 while Aaron Brooks had 16 and Kenneth Faried added 15. Faried went 7 of 10 from the field and is averaging 21.2 points on 69.8 percent shooting with 10.4 rebounds in his last five games.
At 3-13 since Feb. 7, the Nuggets have firmly positioned themselves towards the bottom five of the West after entering that stretch with playoff aspirations.
The Magic (19-46), one of three teams still without 20 wins, haven't needed to worry about that illusion for quite some time. Monday's 105-98 loss in Milwaukee was their third straight as they blew an 18-point lead.
Miami Heat, after breaking a three-game skid, will appear to pick up their first make an impression on the Brooklyn Nets this year when they host Jason Kidd's men on Wednesday.
The Nets are 2-0 from the Heat this year, but both those wins came at home. Brooklyn has a poor record against Heat in Miami, having failed to add a 'W' in more than six years.
However, holding the very best record (22-9) since the turn of the season in the Eastern Conference, this might be as good a chance just like any to topple the Heat, who snapped a three-game losing streak with a hard-fought 99-90 victory over the Washington Wizards, a victory which earned Miami a playoff spot.
"We needed this win," Dwyane Wade said. "We weren't down on ourselves, but we really don't like losing two games in a row and we lost three. Which means this was a good way to pick it support, and now we have a great week in your own home."
The home swing continues from the Nets - a team on a hot streak having won six of their last seven games. "(The Nets) are playing some great basketball right now," Lebron said. 'We look forward to playing a group that's been playing good."
Wade had 13 points in the fourth quarter to key the Heat past the Wizards on Monday, and also the guard looked as good as ever playing in a rare back-to-back game, after enduring nearly 40 minutes in the overtime loss towards the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
"People made sweeping assumptions that he won't play any [games] back-to-back, but that's never been the case," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "When we are saying everything is day-to-day, that's what we mean. If he can pass a series of exercises and tests from the routine, if his legs feel good, why hold back?
"He's ready to go and he can play. We anticipated early in the year that as the season continued, he would feel better."
Laurent Blanc insists Paris St Germain will still be playing to win despite holding a 4-0 lead going into their Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
PSG are in control of the last-16 tie after February 18's first leg, by which Zlatan Ibrahimovic's double was sandwiched by an earlier goal from Blaise Matuidi and a late fourth by Yohan Cabaye. Blanc, though, told the club's official website: "We prepare for every match to win, and that's the same concerning the match against Leverkusen.
"We respect this team. We must back up our performance in the first game. "We have been preparing for the match since Monday. It is down to us and we have to take the game seriously."
Ibrahimovic is anticpated to be available but Matuidi is sidelined together with Marco Verratti and Gregory van der Wiel for the return leg.
"Zlatan, who has had problems with his back, is feeling much better," said Blanc. "Marco, Gregory and Blaise will not play on Wednesday. They which plays is going to be competitive but there'll certainly be changes in the team which played against Bastia."
Leverkusen boss Sami Hyypia has also vowed that his team can give their all regardless of the lop-sided aggregate scoreline at the start of play. "We are not writing off the game," he explained, "Otherwise we might as well send the under-23 side.
"It's a great chance for the players to appear." Midfielder Lars Bender is doubtful for that match but Omer Toprak and Stefan Reinartz are more likely to feature."We aren't taking any chances with Lars. I have a little hope, but it'll be difficult for Paris."
