Toronto @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 26, 2018 ) Dallas 107, Toronto 116

The road has not been kind of late to the Toronto Raptors, who will try to snap a three-game road skid when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The Raptors, who sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, fell at Indiana and Houston to begin the current three-game trek.

Toronto welcomed back superstar Kawhi Leonard on Friday after he was given four games off to rest and he looked refreshed while scoring 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting but missed a 3-point attempt on the final possession of a 121-119 setback at the Rockets. "We still have a lot of things to work on, to look at, get back to the drawing board, watch some film, make some adjustments and play better next game," veteran shooting guard Danny Green told reporters. The Mavericks got a boost in their last two games - both wins - from point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who returned to the team after being away for the previous six games and averaged 18 points in the victories. "He's back (and) we got two wins," star rookie Luka Doncic told reporters of Smith. "He helps us a lot, not just in attacks. Obviously, he can do a lot of things. But on defense he's aggressively fast, so he helps us a lot."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN (Toronto), FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (36-15): Power forward Pascal Siakam stepped up with 22 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's setback, giving him six double-doubles in 13 games this month and marking his highest scoring effort since he poured in 24 in a win at Washington on Jan. 13. The 24-year-old is one of several players picking up the scoring slack for point guard Kyle Lowry, who slumped to nine points on 2-of-9 shooting at Houston. Lowry last hit 50 percent or better from the floor in a game at Golden State on Dec. 12 and is shooting 31.6 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (22-26): One of Smith's issues while he was away was his role within the offense now that Doncic is running things, and coach Rick Carlisle is making some changes to let both talented young players have some control. "Look, those guys can play, there's no doubt in my mind about it," Carlisle told reporters. "And I like staggering them because it creates a different look. The important thing is to win games, and that is what we are trying to do." Doncic collected 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the 106-101 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday while Smith scored 19.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Green (left hand) is probable for Sunday.

2. Mavericks SF Harrison Barnes, who averages 17.7 points, scored in single digits in two of the last three games.

3. Toronto earned a 116-107 home win over Dallas on Oct. 26 behind 20 points and 12 assists from Lowry.

PREDICTION: Raptors 113, Mavericks 108