Preview: Mavericks to host Rockets in front of hostile fanbase

The Dallas Mavericks return home from a five-game road trip coming off a massive win against the Boston Celtics. It's also the first home game since Nico Harrison thought it was smart to trade away Luka Doncic. The scenes both inside and outside of the arena will be volatile, at best. Fans were already protesting outside of the arena when the trade was announced, and now that the team is home, Dallas is preparing for the worst, including by beefing up security for Nico Harrison.

But there will still be a game to play, and Anthony Davis should be making his debut for the Mavericks. They dominated the Celtics on Thursday, despite what the final score might suggest, giving them some positive momentum after what had been a rough road trip. Dallas ended that road stretch 2-3 with wins over the Celtics and Pelicans. Klay Thompson led the way with 23 points in the first half, and that was enough to get everyone else going, as Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie each scored 20+ points off the bench.

The Houston Rockets are on a five-game losing streak, including two losses to the Brooklyn Nets of all teams. Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. have missed time recently, leading to some of those losses, but they're starting to slide down the Western Conference standings after starting out hot.

Houston decided not to make any major moves, only adding Cody Zeller to bring in a second-round pick, and then trading for and waiving Jaden Springer for a swap of second-round picks with the Celtics. If only the Mavericks had made minor moves like that.

The Rockets won the first matchup between these two 108-102 in Dallas on Halloween night.