The LA Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks are playing live on the NBA schedule on Thursday night and the game from the American Airlines Center will be streaming from the NBA.com League Pass website and has Chris Paul taking on Dirk Nowitzki in a crucial west matchup as the playoffs get closer and it starts up at 8:30 pm ET.
The game is huge for the Mavericks as they try and push into the playoffs as the number eight seed and right now they are out of it and if they were in the east that would be a totally different story and now they have the chance to get a win against one of the better teams in the west in the Clippers. The Mavs come into the game after a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime and that was a great victory and that saw Nowitzki lead the team with 32 points and 10 rebounds and he will be the prime focus for the Mavs on Thursday night.
The team has the chance for a couple nice wins here, as the Clippers come and then the Sacramento Kings and that game also will be at home. The Mavs are playing much better this season overall than last year and they will be guaranteed to finishing with a better record after coming in at .500 last season. The team is ranked eighth in the league in points per game this season and they are fifth in assists per game and while they are giving up 102 points per contest, they are putting up 105 and they will need a good offensive performance to win on Thursday.
Dirk is once again leading the team in scoring with 21.4 points per game, while Blake Griffin is tops with 24.3 points for the Clippers. The team lost against the Pelicans on the road by two points and that was a tough one to swallow for Doc Rivers and now they are looking to stay in the top part of the standings in the west, as they are in first place in the Pacific division. The team is ranked first in points per game this season with 107 and they are third in assists per game and in the top 15 in defense.
The Mavericks have to keep playing well to stay in the playoff chase and as the final couple weeks start to roll by, every game matters and so does every result. The Clippers are going to try and stop the bleeding on Thursday and it will be a battle of wills to see who wants the game more. The Clippers are on a five game road trip and while Jamal Crawford had over 30 points, the team couldn't win in New Orleans.
Check here for the Mavericks and Clippers live coverage from the NBA.