Friend Turns Foe: Mavs vs. Porzingis, Wizards GAMEDAY
On their final road trip of the regular season, the Dallas Mavericks will face former Dallas player Kristaps Porzingis and the Washington Wizards in D.C. on Friday night. It will be the first time that Porzingis, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Davis Bertans will play against their former teams.
The Mavs (48-29) are fresh off of clinching a postseason birth for the third consecutive season with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. This means that the Mavs have successfully avoided the dreaded Play-In Tournament. Winners of three straight, two more wins would give Dallas a 50-win season for first time since 2015.
While the team is trying not to "scoreboard watch"... The Mavs are currently third in the Western Conference and gunning for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Washington is currently 11th in the Eastern Conference and trail the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks by six games. Since Porzingis entered the Wizards' rotation on March 6, he has totaled five double-doubles and seven games of 22 points or more.
© David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
© David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
FLASHBACK: Dinwiddie and Bertāns were acquired by Dallas from Washington in exchange for Porzingis and a protected 2022 second round pick in a trade-deadline deal on in February.
RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (48-29) at WASHINGTON WIZARDS (33-43)
WHEN: Friday, April 1, 2022 • 6:00 p.m. CT
LOCATION: Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.)
TV/RADIO: BSSW, 97.1 The Eagle (KEGL)
DALLAS INJURY REPORT: Sterling Brown (health and safety protocols) is out; Trey Burke (health and safety protocols) is out; Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) is out; Frank Ntilikina (right ankle sprain) is questionable; Theo Pinson (right fifth finger fracture) is out.
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
ODDS: The Mavs are 8.5-point favorites over the Wizards.
NEXT: Next, the Mavs play in Milwaukee on Sunday and then finish the road trip on April 6 in Detroit.
LAST WORD: Porzingis on playing his former team:
"I think it's going to be a good game. It's not going to be like my first game with Dallas in New York.That one was just crazy. This one is going to be a bit more just me competing against my old team. We'll see.”
