The New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Dallas Mavericks at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night.

Dallas Mavericks 

The Dallas Mavericks have been in great form as they’ve won eight of their last 10 games overall and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after routing the Pelicans in a 136-124 road win on Sunday. Kyrie Irving led the team with 35 points, six rebounds and seven assists, Luka Doncic added 30 points with nine assists while Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in with 15 points off the bench. As a team, the Mavericks shot 49 percent from the field and 20 of 52 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Pelicans from the start and poured in 67 points in the first half to take the double-digit lead, before they exploded for 42 points in the third quarter to allow them to rest their starters early. 

New Orleans Pelicans 

The New Orleans Pelicans have been in poor form as they are now hoping to put an end to a five-game slide after coming up short against the Mavericks on Sunday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 20 points and five assists on nine of 17 shooting, Zion Williamson added 18 points on seven of 11 shooting while Dyson Daniels chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot 51 percent from the field and 17 of 36 from the 3-point line which is usually good enough numbers to hang with most teams, but the Mavericks were just on fire in this one. The Pelicans trailed by as many as 29 points in this one before they poured in 39 points in the fourth quarter to make the final scores respectable. 

Peter’s Pick

The Mavericks are still shorthanded as Maxi Kleber is out, while the Pelicans are still missing Larry Nance Jr, CJ McCollum and Jose Alverado. The Mavericks have been one of the form teams of the league and they made it look easy against the Pelicans on Sunday. Yes, it’s always tough to beat the same team twice in a row, but with the Pelicans missing so many players, I can’t see anything but a similar result in this one.