NBA Preview from The Sports Network
Saturday, November 10th
(All times eastern)
Dallas Mavericks (4-2) at Charlotte Bobcats (1-3), 7:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) - If only the Dallas Mavericks could play the Charlotte
Bobcats every night.
The Mavericks and Bobcats will renew their lopsided rivalry Saturday in the
Tar Heel State, while Dallas looks to go 17-0 in the all-time series.
Dallas defeated the Bobcats, 126-99, back on Nov. 3 in Big D and has held
Charlotte under 100 points in every meeting. The Mavericks are 7-0 as the
visitor in this series, too.
The Mavs had their three-game winning streak come to an end in Friday's 104-94
setback against the undefeated New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. With
Dirk Nowitzki still sidelined with a balky knee, O.J. Mayo picked up the slack
once again with 23 points.
"They're a very good team, and in my opinion, they are one of a handful of
teams that has a chance to come out of the East," Mavericks coach Rick
Carlisle said of the Knicks. "I like their talent, they are well coached, and
they have Jason Kidd, and he's going to bring everyone's level of focus and
intensity up."
Vince Carter and Chris Kaman scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, while
Brandan Wright netted 11 points in a losing cause. New York scored 20 points
off 20 Dallas turnovers and held the Mavs to 37 points in the second half.
The Mavericks averaged 116.3 points on 56.2 percent shooting during their win
streak. In other injury news, forward Shawn Marion (knee) is expected to miss
about a week of action.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats have dropped three straight since a season-opening win
over Indiana, and are coming off Friday's 107-99 setback to the New Orleans
Hornets in the Big Easy.
Ben Gordon had 34 points to lead the way, while Ramon Sessions and rookie
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"I just tried to be aggressive while I was out there," Gordon said. "My
teammates did a good job of finding me on various plays. The bigs did a solid
job of setting various screens allowing me to get some space and I was able to
score some points."
Kemba Walker ended with 11 points for Charlotte, which shot a decent 48.2
percent and has lost 13 straight road games dating back to last season.
Bobcats big man Brendan Haywood missed the game for personal reasons and could
return this evening.
The Bobcats will play two straight and six of the next seven games at home.
11/10 10:42:45 ET
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