Brooklyn @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 4, 2019 ) Dallas 88, Brooklyn 127

After ending 2019 with a pair of road losses, the Dallas Mavericks start 2020 with their longest homestand of the season, a six-gamer that starts Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets. One of the top road teams in the league at 12-5, the Mavericks suffered setbacks at the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder to end the year.

Star guard Luka Doncic played through wrist and back ailments on the trip while starters Kristaps Porzingis (knee) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring) missed the 106-101 loss to the Thunder on Tuesday. "We're not going to be an excuse team," coach Rick Carlisle told reporters in Oklahoma City. "We're not going to go there. We've just got to execute a little bit better at both ends." The Nets have withstood plenty of injuries themselves but recently hit a rough patch with three straight losses, matching their longest slide of the season. Spencer Dinwiddie's 36 points was not enough in a 122-115 overtime loss at Minnesota on Monday.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: YES, FS Southwest

ABOUT THE NETS (16-16): Brooklyn is in danger of falling below .500 for the first time since the week before Thanksgiving after blowing a nine-point fourth-quarter advantage against a Minnesota team that was playing without stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. "It was just an unacceptable performance by us," coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "We were lucky to get to overtime, quite honestly. Even at halftime, I felt like we were just not playing at a high level. We're not playing up to Nets standards. Hard to figure out why." One issue Monday was the shooting woes for starters Garrett Temple and Taurean Prince, who combined to go 6-of-29 from the floor.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (21-12): Doncic finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists at Oklahoma City but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing moments. Maxi Kleber started in place of Porzingis and had 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Doncic and Kleber combined to jack up 25 3-pointers - making seven - as Dallas tied its season high with 51 attempts from long range.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nets PG Kyrie Irving (shoulder) has missed 21 straight games and has yet to be cleared for contact.

2. Mavericks SG Seth Curry is 11-of-45 from the floor over a five-game stretch.

3. Brooklyn posted a 127-88 win at home in the second meeting last season to gain a split of the two-game series.

PREDICTION: Mavericks 109, Nets 100