Charlotte @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 6, 2019 ) Charlotte 93, Dallas 99

The Dallas Mavericks have yet to drop three straight games this season and made sure they wouldn't when they opened a six-game homestand by cruising past the Brooklyn Nets 123-111 on Thursday. The Mavericks will try to make it two consecutive victories when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Dallas closed out a three-game road trip by averaging 98 points in losses at the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder but got the offense back in gear while shooting 50 percent from the floor and knocking down 18 3-pointers against the Nets. "We were in a good rhythm," Mavericks guard Seth Curry told reporters. "We had a pretty good third and fourth quarter - got some good stops. Offensively we needed a little spark, so it was good to see some shots fall. It was a good win." The Hornets snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday at Cleveland as guard Terry Rozier broke out of a shooting slump and scored 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting. "We just kept believing," Rozier told reporters. "We came out, played with a chip on our shoulder, kept playing hard. That's the team we want to be. We didn't play our best basketball today, but we kept fighting and it worked out for us."

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

ABOUT THE HORNETS (14-23): Charlotte trailed by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter on Thursday before Rozier led the comeback and Devonte' Graham hit the tie-breaking 3-pointer. "Overall, we weren't perfect, but we got stops down the stretch," Hornets coach James Borrego told reporters. "Nine of our last 11 possessions were stops. Rebounds, big shots - you have to give our guys a ton of credit." Graham recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists but went 3-of-8 from the floor to continue a shooting slump that has seen him shoot 27.3 percent over the last 10 games.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (22-12): Dallas outscored the Nets 30-18 in the fourth quarter to pull away and gave credit to the defense for providing the spark. "We played way better defense in the fourth quarter, especially the rebounding totals," Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic told reporters. "We had to get there and close out to everybody." Doncic took control of the offense and finished with 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting - 5-of-8 from beyond the arc - to go with 13 rebounds and seven assists, and he recorded at least a double-double in four of five games since returning from an ankle injury.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Mavericks SG Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring) and PF Kristaps Porzingis (knee) are both questionable for Saturday.

2. Hornets PF Marvin Williams left Thursday's game with a nasal injury and is day-to-day.

3. Dallas swept the two-game series last season.

PREDICTION: Mavericks 120, Hornets 108