Preview: Mavs look for bounce-back win vs. Warriors

Earl K. Sneed reports San Francisco and previews the Dallas Mavericks' nationally-televised matchup against the Golden State Warriors in the second outing of a four-game road trip.

Preview: Mavericks (19-26) at Warriors (28-17)
Mavs look for bounce-back win vs. Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO — After suffering heartbreak in Portland on Tuesday night, things admittedly don’t get any easier for the Dallas Mavericks as they continue their four-game journey away from home.

Falling to a 106-104 last-second loss on All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge’s turnaround jumper as time expired, the Mavericks (19-26) began their road trip scratching their heads after watching a 21-point lead evaporate. Thursday night, they’ll try to rebound against a tough Golden State Warriors team that handed the Mavs a 105-101 overtime home loss back on Nov. 19.

The Mavs will now try to shake off the loss while building momentum over the next three outings prior to concluding play before the All-Star break with a four-game homestand.

“We definitely want to end this road trip on a positive note,” leading scorer O.J. Mayo said. “We’ve got three more games to get, winnable games, and we’ve just got to go out there and knock those out. Probably a little short-term goal, as far as having a winning record going into the All-Star break, and try to refocus and regear your minds and bodies after All-Star break, because you’ve got to make a big push.”

“We sometimes find ways to lose instead of finding ways to win. That’s the sad thing. But hey, you’ve got to keep working. You know, this team is resilient and we’re going to come back Thursday and let it all hang out again,” 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki added after dropping a season-high 26 points in the loss at Portland.

The Mavs will try to correct matters against the Warriors (28-17) in a nationally-televised matchup, hoping that All-Star snub Stephen Curry, who missed Golden State’s 108-95 win at Cleveland on Tuesday, isn’t able to give it a go after turning his surgically-repaired right ankle the night prior.

Curry had 31 points in the first meeting between the two teams while sharpshooter Klay Thompson finished with just seven on 2-of-14 shooting. But after Thompson dropped a career-high 32 points on 13-of-24 from the field with Curry sidelined, the Mavericks know they’ll once again have their hands full even if Curry is unable to go, especially with center Andrew Bogut expected to be available after resting one night following a season debut of 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes of action during a 114-102 victory at Toronto on Monday.

But before facing off against a Warriors team that has won 14 of 20 at home this season, the Mavs will first have to find the cause for their last-game collapses, after that trend continued while getting outscored 12-3 over the final 1:37 of play against the Blazers. And with three games remaining on their road trip, the Mavericks hope to execute better down the stretch of games as they try to get back on track.

“Down the stretch, we weren’t very good,” Nowitzki said in Portland. “I mean, you can’t give up a 3, a 3 and a two to lose the game, that’s first of all. Maybe we shouldn’t have even been in that position. We were up 20, had the game under control and basically gave the lead away in just a couple of minutes. … We still should have won it. We didn’t do a good job of executing down the stretch. We had like two or three turnovers. One time we couldn’t get the ball inbounded, they run down and get two shots. And then like I said, to give up two 3′s and a 2 in three possessions to lose the game is tough.”

“We made our share of mistakes and they made their share of really good plays,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added after the Mavs committed eight of their 16 total turnovers in the fourth quarter of the loss. “You know, it was disappointing. … We’ve got to get better closing games. It’s pretty simple.”

Note: The Mavericks will now continue their road trip by making a stop in Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. The Warriors lead the season series 1-0, after handing the Mavs a 105-101 overtime home loss back on Nov. 19. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.