Mavericks hoping to avoid second loss to Pelicans in already disastrous season

The Dallas Mavericks are at home once again on Friday night, their 12th home game in 17 games. They'll be facing the New Orleans Pelicans, a team they've already lost to, in NBA Cup action. This is a team they likely can't afford to lose, but they've already lost to the Pelicans once this year, and that was a game without Zion Williamson.

Dallas is coming off a disheartening loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. They led for most of the fourth quarter, but the Knicks won the final minute and a half, and that was the difference. The Brandon Williams offensive foul call at the end was controversial in the moment, but it probably was the correct call, and now they sit at 4-12.

Cooper Flagg missed the first game of his career on Wednesday with an illness, but it seems like he's slated to be back on Friday. This is the first night of a back-to-back, as they'll play the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow night, so some guys may be on minutes restrictions in preparation for that game.

Nov 14, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) brings the ball up court during an NBA Cup game between the Mavericks and the Clippers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Because they got a mostly good performance out of D'Angelo Russell on Wednesday, he'll probably have one of the worst performances you've ever seen in this game. Naji Marshall had a really strong performance on Wednesday, but he seems to have great games against the Knicks. The former Pelican likes to play against his former team, but we'll see how he follows up on Wednesday's game.

Zion Williamson returned for the Pelicans on Wednesday for 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists after missing eight games. As mentioned at the top, he didn't play in the first matchup between these teams this year, so we'll see how P.J. Washington plays against him.

Rookie Derik Queen has been impressive recently. He had 30 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. He had a lot of pressure on him this offseason because of what the Pelicans gave up to get him in the Draft, and he's turning in some occasionally phenomenal performances.

His fellow rookie, Jeremiah Fears, has had some great games recently, too, as he had 24 points on Monday against the OKC Thunder.