FIVE GAMES LEFT: Dallas Mavs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers GAMEDAY
With the NBA regular season dwindling, the Dallas Mavericks look to continue a hot streak, traveling to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. The Mavs have won 6 of their last 7 games to snag the the fifth seed in the Western Conference with five games left to play.
It's the second Mavs game vs. the Cavaliers in three nights after Dallas took the first meeting between the two teams with a 110-90 victory in Dallas on Friday night. Dallas star Luka Doncic achieved an impressive career milestone by surpassing 5,000 career points in the win.
Kristaps Porzingis (right knee soreness) and Maxi Kleber (achilles) missed their fourth consecutive game. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle made it clear that Kleber, questionable for the game vs. the Cavs, is making progress' but doesn't expect him to play on Sunday.
Carlisle had even less information about a potential return for Porzingis, who is listed as out for the game vs. the Cavs.. He did participate in an on-court workout prior to the Mavericks' 110-90 win over the Cavaliers on Friday.
“I’m not as certain where he is exactly," Carlisle said. "But, look, we got to go with what we got and who’s available. It’s been next-man-up all year and we got to keep it that way.”
READ MORE: Mavs Film Room: The Case For More Minutes For Rookie Josh Green
ODDS: The Mavs entered the day as 11-point favorites to the Cavs, and the total over/under is 217.5.
BETTING TRENDS: The over has cashed in four of the past five for the Mavericks on the road. The over is also 5-1 in Cleveland’s past six at home, and 4-1 in the past five as a home underdog.
RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (39-28) @ CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (21-46)
WHEN: Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 6 p.m. CT
LOCATION: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Cleveland, OH)
TV/RADIO: TNT, BSSW, ESPN 103.3 FM, Univision 1270 AM
FINAL WORD: “Not having Kleber or Porzingis puts us in a more precarious situation. But we just got to figure it out. Five games left. Every game, super meaningful. We understand it,” said Carlisle.
