NBA basketball on Thursday night and we will see San Antonio Spurs travel to American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas to take on the Dallas Mavericks. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Mavericks listed as 2 point favorites, while the total sits at 202.5.
Stat Packs:The San Antonio Spurs come in at 60-18 on the year and they have a 3.5 game lead of the the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot in the Western Conference. They do come in having lost 2 of their last 3 and recently had their 19 game winning streak snapped. The Spurs come in ranked 7th in scoring (105.4 ppg), 2nd in FG% (48.9%) and 1st in 3pt shooting (39.8%). The offense will be a bit weakened for this game as Tony Parker is out and Manu Ginobli is listed as doubtful. Tim Duncan is the top remaining scorer, averaging 15.1 ppg, while Kawhi Leonard is second at 12.6 ppg. Tim Duncan leads the team in rebounding (9.7 rpg). Defensively this is a solid team, as they rank 6th in points allowed (97.2 ppg) and 8th in FG% defense (44.2%). Fifteen different players have made at least one start for the Spurs this season.
The Dallas Mavericks come in at 48-31 and are currently in 7th place in the Western Conference. The Mavericks have gone 28-15 in their last 43 games and they bare 25-14 at home this year. The Mavericks' final two regular-season games are against the Phoenix Suns and Grizzlies, two of the four teams fighting for the final three playoff spots in the West. Dallas is a very good offensive team as they come in ranked 8th in scoring (104.9 ppg), 5th in shooting (47.4%), 2nd in 3pt shooting (38.5%) and 3rd in FT shooting (79.5%). Dirk Nowitzki leads the offense with 21.6 ppg and he has been on a roll of late shooting 59.3% from the floor while averaging 24.4 points in the last five games. Second on the team in scoring is Monta Ellis, who averages 18.8 ppg, while Samuel Dalembert leads the team in rebounding at 6.8 rpg. Defensively the numbers don't look as good, as they 19th in points allowed (102.4 ppg) and 23rd in defensive FG% (46.4%).
Pick: Gonna look to the Mavs in this one. I feel they need it so much more than the Spurs. Dallas has played well at home and this is a time of year that the Spurs will really start resting plays to get ready for the post season. San Antonio may very well be the best team in the NBA, but on this night it is the Mavs that will steal the show.
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