The Dallas Mavericks will be looking to pick up an eighth consecutive victory when they journey to the Paycom Center to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, with the Mavericks holding their own to see off a fightback from OKC to secure a two-point victory on November 18.
Match preview
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The Oklahoma City Thunder continued to strengthen their lead in the Western Conference power rankings as they picked up a 119-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Saturday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 31 points in 34 minutes of action to record 30+ points in six of his last seven matches, with Jalen Williams knocking down 27 points and Isaiah Hartenstein finishing with a 12-point 12-rebound double-double.
The Thunder have now won three games on the bounce, brushing aside the Utah Jazz, the Toronto Raptors and the Pelicans, while picking up seven wins from their last eight matches since suffering consecutive defeats against the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs in November.
Having finished first in the Western Conference standings last season, Mark Daigneault's are favourites to clinch top seed once again as they sit top of the power rankings with an impressive 18-5 record after 23 games.
The Thunder have tightened things up at the back court this term, allowing a league-lowest 42.5% field goal and 103.8 points per game — the second-fewest tally in the division.
Next up for OKC is the challenge of an opposing side who are on a three-match winning streak between the two sides and are have won five of their last six clashes - a run which saw them pick up a 4-2 victory in the Western Conference semi-finals back in May.
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Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks continued their surge to the top of the Western Conference standings as they rolled past the Toronto Raptors 125-118 at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic finished with 20+ points, with Doncic knocking down 30 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds to record his 79th career triple-double and fire the visitors to victory.
Following a topsy-turvy start to the campaign, when they picked up just five wins from their opening 12 matches, the Mavericks have now won 11 of their subsequent 12 games, including seven back-to-back wins since November 26.
This fine run of results has been in keeping with their impressive display in offence, where they are averaging a 48.7% field goal and are the fifth-best scoring side in the league while ranking fourth in points per game so far (119.1).
Jason Kidd's men have now picked up 16 wins from the 24 games so far to improve to 16-8 for the season and sit fourth in the Western Conference standings, level with third-placed Houston Rockets.
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Team News
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The Oklahoma City Thunder remain without several players down the spine of the team as Jaylin Williams (hamstring), Nikola Topic (ACL) and key forward Chet Holmgren (hip) continue their spells on the sidelines.
Alex Ducas has been ruled out since coming off injured in the pre-season clash against the Spurs on October 8 and the 23-year-old will also play no part in Tuesday's clash.
Having recorded his 79th NBA triple-double against the Raptors last time out, Doncic has now moved above Wilt Chamberlin and James Harden in the league's all-time tally.
The Slovenian is currently fifth in the league scoring chart, averaging 28.7 points per game, and has formed the second half of a deadly offensive duo with 32-year-old Irving.
On the injury front, Maxi Kleber missed the game against the Raptors through illness and will play no part in Wednesday's clash while Jaden Hardy (ankle) and Dante Exum (wrist) continue their spells on the sidelines.
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting 5:
Wallace, Dort, Hartenstein, Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander
Dallas Mavericks possible starting 5:
Irving, Thompson, Lively, Washington, Doncic
We say: Dallas Mavericks to win by 3+ points.
Wednesday's clash sees two of the most in-form sides in the West go head to head and we anticipate a thrilling matchup against the Paycom Center. With Doncic back firing on all cylinders, having returned from the sidelines, we expect the Mavs to put up a fight and extend their recent dominance over the home side.
Joshua Ojele
