(Sports Network) - The Dallas Mavericks saw their four-game winning streak
snapped on Friday, but they'll try to start a new one Sunday evening when they
visit the Orlando Magic.
The Mavericks fell 117-114 in overtime, at home to the Western Conference
champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Kevin Durant scored 52 to carry the
Thunder to victory.
"Well, honestly, he had 52, but I thought we guarded him as well as you can
guard somebody having 52," admitted Dirk Nowitzki. "I think he missed a bunch
of shots. I think at one point he missed eight in a row or something like
that, so I mean he got hot there late. I thought we didn't do a good job
obviously of keeping him off the free throw line. You can't give a good player
21 free throws. At some point, if he keeps seeing the ball go in the basket,
at some point he's going to get hot. But, like I said, for a guy that had 52,
I think we did a decent job on him."
Vince Carter led the way for the Mavs with 29 points off the bench. Nowitzki
and O.J. Mayo had 18 each and Darren Collison, Elton Brand and Mike James all
scored in double figures.
Dallas has enjoyed nice balanced scoring of late. The Mavs have had six
scorers in double figures in each of the last four games and Dallas is 8-4
when that occurs.
The Magic are struggling, losing 10 of their last 12. On Friday night, they
fell at home to the Charlotte Bobcats, 106-100, to fall to 8-13 inside Amway
Center.
Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson both had over 20 against the Bobcats. J.J.
Redick, Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Nicholson all scored in double digits.
The Magic hoisted 31 3-pointers against the Bobcats and only made 11 of them.
Orlando shot 46.8 percent from the field, which was the exact same percentage
for Charlotte, but four more turnovers might have been the difference.
Nelson is day-to-day with a hip injury, but is expected to play against the
Mavericks.
The Magic had won two of three heading into the Charlotte game with victories
over the Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers, two of the best teams in the
NBA.
"Everyone talks about momentum," said head coach Jacque Vaughn. "It wasn't
Indiana. It wasn't the Clippers. It was Charlotte. Play Charlotte, respect
Charlotte, respect the game and your approach should be that way every single
time."
The Mavericks have won four of the last six meetings between the two clubs and
has won six straight in Orlando.
The Sports Network