Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks live stream: Watch NBA live on TV, preview, start time
The Dallas Mavericks (14-29) will host the Los Angeles Lakers (16-31) Sunday at the American Airlines Center in a battle between two of the bottom three teams in the Western Conference.
While the Lakers are fresh off a surprising 108-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, the home team will enter the contest on the back of consecutive losses to the Utah Jazz and the Miami Heat. But the Mavs seem to have a significant psychological edge over their conference rivals, having beaten then 12 consecutive times dating back to Apr. 2, 203. This season, the Mavs are already 2-0 up against the Lakers in the four-game regular season series which will culminate in Dallas on Mar. 2.
The Lakers will be without starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, who suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee, besides a calf strain and a bone bruise during Friday's win over the Pacers. After Saturday's MRI report, the Lakers announced that the second-year guard would be re-evaluated after a week and could be side-lined for up to two weeks. With the Lakers most likely to miss the postseason for a fourth consecutive year, there's very little urgency to rush back Russell, who leads the team in assists per game (4.4) and is second in points (14.3).
Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks: D'Angelo Russell ruled out
After Friday's game, Lakers coach Luke Walton breathed a sigh of relief, noting that the injury wasn't as serious as initially expected. "I don't think it's as bad as I initially thought. I saw him go down and I was pretty worried for him, but he said he feels all right when I checked on him at halftime. I'll get more of an update tonight and then even more so tomorrow," Walton said of Russell, who tripped while running a pick-and-roll with Julius Randle on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are dealing with injuries of their own, losing veteran guard J.J. Barea during Friday's overtime defeat to the Jazz. Barea, an important part of Rick Carlisle's offense, aggravated the same calf injury that caused him to miss two thirds of the season. "After a shot, I went to step to the side and I think I ran into the fans behind me and the fans sitting down. I looked back, but nobody touched me. When I went to step, that's when I knew something was wrong with my calf," Barea said after the game, via ESPN.
Following Sunday's game, the Lakers will stay on the road to face Portland Trail Blazers (Wednesday) and Utah Jazz (Thursday) before returning home to host the Denver Nuggets next Tuesday. The Mavericks, on the other hand, will stay at home to host the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks live stream: How to watch
Start time: 3:30 PM (ET), 12:30 PM (PT), 6:30 AM on Monday (AEST), 7:30 AM (AEDT)
On TV: Time Warner Sports Net, Fox Sports Southwest (USA)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global)
