Phoenix @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 31, 2018 ) Dallas 88, Phoenix 102

The Dallas Mavericks failed to earn a win on their final road trip of the season but have one game remaining in the regular season to get to 25 victories. The Mavericks will try to hit that mark when they host the Western Conference-worst Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Dallas fell at Orlando, Detroit and Philadelphia on its final road trip but felt like it put in a good effort on Sunday against a playoff-bound 76ers squad. “I thought we played pretty well," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "This is a very hard team to play. And defensively, they’re very persistent, so it’s not super easy to get shots, so it was a tough game. Playing these guys today was very similar to a playoff atmosphere. A wild building, they’re going for their 14th in a row, they’re trying to clinch a high (playoff) seed. This is great simulation for what playoff basketball is going to be like for us in the future." The Suns are playing for the future as well and already clinched the worst record in the NBA and the most ping pong balls in the NBA draft lottery. Phoenix is trying to find enough healthy bodies to finish out the season and is missing some of its biggest pieces heading into the season finale.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Arizona (Phoenix), FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE SUNS (20-61): Phoenix has been without leading scorer Devin Booker (24.9 points) for the last 11 games and does not expect to have him on Tuesday, and second-leading scorer TJ Warren (19.6) is out with a knee injury. “I was hoping by now they would be back," interim coach Jay Triano told reporters. "Booker has tried on numerous occasions to practice and get minutes in and all of a sudden it gets jammed to the point where he has to pull himself out of practice so obviously he can’t play in a game." Third-leading scorer Josh Jackson took the absence of Booker and Warren as an opportunity to get more minutes and averaged 24.8 points over four games before sitting out Sunday's 117-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors with a quad contusion.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (24-57): Dallas is playing out the string as well but continues to get solid production from some of the pieces it will build around in the future. Rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. is battling through knee soreness that has him questionable for Tuesday but logged 40 minutes on Sunday and finished with 20 points and 11 assists. The 20-year-old North Carolina State product was coming off a poor performance in Detroit in which he struggled to seven points on 2-of-12 shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Suns SG Troy Daniels (ankle) left Sunday's game and is questionable for Tuesday.

2. Mavericks SF Dorian Finney-Smith is averaging 5.5 points but scored in double figures in each of the last three games.

3. Phoenix took the last four meetings, including two at Dallas.

PREDICTION: Mavericks 108, Suns 95