The Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks will intensify their preparations for the upcoming campaign with a pre-season encounter at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
Snapping a three-game losing run will be the major objective for the hosts heading into this one, while their visitors go in search of a third consecutive victory as they continue to gather steam.
Match preview
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The Dallas Mavericks were on the receiving end of a second straight pre-season defeat as they faced off against the Utah Jazz in Friday's matchup, seeking to return to winning ways.
Similar to their opening loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, Jason Kidd's men fell five points short once again despite outscoring their opponents by seven in what proved to be a largely inconsequential fourth quarter.
Klay Thompson made his debut for his new employers with an 18-minute shift which yielded 10 points and three assists as the former Golden State Warriors guard endured a rough shooting night, making just three of his nine attempts from the field.
Returning to action for the first time since game five of last season's NBA finals, Kyrie Irving notched 12 points on 6-11 shooting in his first-half cameo, although the 32-year-old went 0-4 from behind the arc.
Having endured an injury-plagued pre-season so far, the Mavericks have it all to do in their penultimate warm-up fixture against the Clippers before wrapping things up with a clash against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
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Six days on since kicking off proceedings with a defeat to the Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers picked up a second straight pre-season triumph by seeing off the threat of the Portland Trailblazers in Saturday's meeting at the Climate Pledge Arena.
Tyronn Lue's men recovered from an early shooting slump in the first quarter to take a six-point lead heading into the final minute but still needed a late game-winning shot from Kai Jones.
They now set out to continue their winning run at the expense of a Mavericks outfit that won five of the nine meetings between the teams last season across regular-season and playoff action.
With the teams not scheduled to meet again until December, the Clippers will be keen to get one over their Western Conference counterparts having suffered a 4-2 series loss in the first round of the most recent playoffs.
After the conclusion of business on Tuesday, the Clippers entertain the Sacramento Kings in their final pre-season game before tipping off the new season with a tasty affair against the Phoenix Suns.
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Team News
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Mavericks are set to welcome all-star point guard Luka Doncic back to action soon, but the Slovenian has been confirmed unavailable for Tuesday's encounter by Jason Kidd.
Forward PJ Washington is also nearing a return to action from a left hip tightness, while Brandon Williams and Max Kleber continue to nurse calf and ankle injuries respectively.
While no official date has been set for a potential comeback, Dante Exum is expected to be sidelined for around three months after recently undergoing surgery on his right wrist.
Fourth-year guard Bones Hyland is back available for the Clippers, having recovered from a hip soreness in time to feature against the Blazers last time out.
However, Kawhi Leonard and Mo Bamba remain sidelined with knee injuries, although both men are still in with a chance of suiting up for their team's season opener.
With Norman Powell currently working his way up to full fitness from a back problem, Amir Coffey is expected to retain his starting spot for Tuesday's clash.
Los Angeles Clippers possible starting five:
Harden, Mann; Jones Jr., Coffey; Zubac
Dallas Mavericks possible starting five:
Irving, Dinwiddie; Thompson, Prosper; Lively
We say: Clippers to win by 3+ points
With the likes of Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson set to be handed extended minutes, we expect the Mavericks to pose a sterner test than they did in their opening two pre-season encounters.
Nonetheless, we can see the Clippers just about doing enough to secure win number three on the bounce.
Adepoju Marvellous
