Doncic, Mavericks welcome in Hawks on Thursday
The Dallas Mavericks start a three-game homestand Thursday when they welcome in the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center.

The Hawks (36-40) beat the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, 121-113, despite a 50-point performance from Malachai Flynn off the bench. Atlanta has won two in a row and six of its last seven games, and have clinched a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament. The Hawks are essentially locked into the ninth or 10th seed, meaning that they could look to rest their main players down the stretch of the regular season. If they want to make it to the first round of the postseason, they’ll need Trae Young to return from a torn ligament in his left finger that he underwent surgery for February 27. Dejounte Murray has stepped up in Young’s absence, with the former averaging 25.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.0 assist and 1.8 steals over 37.4 minutes per game in that span.

Meanwhile the Mavericks (45-30) saw their seven-game win streak come to an end Tuesday in a 104-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors, in a game that saw All-NBA guard Luka Doncic register his 20th triple-double of the season with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Dallas is 11-4 over its last 15 games and sit in a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with the New Orleans Pelicans. Outside of Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks will need contributions from role players like P.J. Washington, Derek Lively and Tim Hardaway if they wish to stay above the cutoff line for the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Thursday’s contest is the second and final game between the Hawks and Mavericks this season, with Dallas taking the 148-143 victory in the first matchup Jan. 26.
Posted on: 4/3/2024 8:28 PM