Dallas @ Oklahoma City preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 14, 2019 ) Oklahoma City 70, Dallas 107

Luka Doncic avoided a serious injury in a hard fall on Sunday and is expected to be in the lineup when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. The star point guard was briefly entered into the concussion protocol after the incident before returning later in the 108-95 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Doncic was been superb with averages of 28.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists and he is moving forward after the fall that came while he was driving to the hoop. "It was scary," Doncic told reporters afterward. "I fell on my back, hit my head and my elbow. I was OK." The Thunder are playing well and won for the sixth time in their past seven games when they posted a 98-87 road victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. "It took discipline and staying locked in," Oklahoma City point guard Chris Paul told reporters. "That's a really good team over there even with all the injuries they've got. They're well-coached, they play hard. That's a big win for us given this road trip."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), FS Oklahoma

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (21-11): Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. departed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury and his availability for Tuesday still needs to be sorted out. The contest against the Lakers marked Dallas' lowest-scoring output of the campaign and included 19 turnovers and 13-of-43 shooting from 3-point range, one game after setting a franchise record with 24 3-point makes in a win over the Golden State Warriors. "We're not going to sit on this one for too long," Mavericks power forward Kristaps Porzingis said after Sunday's loss. "It was not a great game for us, but it's all a learning experience. We're a young group - we just got together. We'll watch the film and learn from this, and it's on to the next one at this point."

ABOUT THE THUNDER (17-15): Second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reached his career best of 32 points in three of the last five games - including Sunday's game against Toronto - and scored 20 or more in six straight games. "He's finding his areas where he can score," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "He's figuring out, inside of our offense, when there's good times to really go attack and be aggressive." Gilgeous-Alexander's effort against the Raptors was special to him as he was born in Toronto and raised in nearby Hamilton.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. This is the third straight year in which the two clubs meet in Oklahoma City on New Year's Eve - The Thunder won 122-102 last year while Dallas posted a 116-113 win two years ago.

2. The Mavericks won three of last season's four meetings.

3. Oklahoma City F Danilo Gallinari (ankle) could miss his fifth straight game, while backup G Dennis Schroder (ankle) hopes to return after a one-game absence.

PREDICTION: Thunder 115, Mavericks 110