Game 62: Mavs vs. Grizzlies

PREVIEW: The Mavs (27-34) will host the Memphis Grizzlies (24-39) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center. The game will be televised on FSSW and can also be heard on ESPN 103.3 FM. Additionally, it can be heard on Univision 1270 AM (Spanish). . .This is the finale of a two-game home stand before the Mavs embark on a three-game road trip starting Monday in Brooklyn against the Nets. The home stand started when the Mavs snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday by upending the Indiana Pacers, 110-101. Luka Doncic (26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists), Jalen Brunson (a career-high 24 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (20 points) led the way for the Mavs. It was the second straight game that the Mavs had three players score at least 20 points in the same game. . .Doncic is the top producer for the Mavs with averages of 20.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 5.7 apg. On Friday, the NBA named Doncic as the Western Conference Rookie of the Month — for his sterling work in February — for the fourth consecutive time this season. He became the first member of the Mavs to win this award four times in one season. In the eight games he played in February, Doncic averaged 24.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 7.4 apg. He also had six double-doubles, a pair of triple-doubles and six games where he scored at least 20 points. . .Hardaway is averaging 16.9 ppg and has scored 20 or more points in five of the last seven games, including the past three. Hardaway has poured in 61 points in the last thee games. . .Dwight Powell has averaged 17 ppg and 6.8 rpg in the past four games, and is 26-of-44 from the field for 59.1 percent during that time frame. . .Over the last four games, Brunson is averaging 16.8 ppg and 3.8 apg. . .Dirk Nowitzki is physically feeling as good as he’s felt all season and has scored 10-plus points in the past three games. It’s the first time all season he’s scored at least 10 points in three consecutive games. . .Dorian Finney-Smith is averaging 6.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg during the last four games. . .The Mavs have a 21-10 home record and have the best home record among the teams that wouldn’t be in the playoffs if the postseason started Saturday. . .The Grizzlies have the second-worst record in the Western Conference, the six-worst record in the entire NBA, and are 9-22 on the road

and in last place in the Southwest Division. . .Memphis has lost five of its last six games, with the lone win coming this past Monday when the Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 110-105, behind 30 points from Mike Conley Jr. and 20 points and 13 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas. Of those five losses, four of them were by six points or less, including against San Antonio (108-107), the Los Angeles Clippers (112-106), Cleveland (112-107) and this past Wednesday against Chicago (109-107). . .Conley leads the Grizzlies with 20.2 ppg and 6.3 apg, and was described Friday by Mavs coach Rick Carlisle as “one of the most underrated players in the game.”. .In the five games he’s played with Memphis after being traded by the Toronto Raptors, Valanciunas is averaging 18.6 ppg and 9.6 rpg. . .Avery Bradley was traded to the Grizzlies on Feb. 7, and scored a career-high 33 points during the upset victory over the Lakers. Bradley has averaged 16.4 ppg in the seven games since joining the Grizzlies. . .In six games since Toronto traded him to the Grizzlies last month, Dallas Skyline High School product CJ Miles is averaging 7.3 ppg in 21 mpg.