Dallas Mavericks Team Report - February 8

(Basketball News) - The Dallas Mavericks host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at American Airlines Center. Dallas has been dominant in this series, as it has won 13 straight over the Bulls. The last time Chicago defeated the Mavericks was on December 29, 1997 on its homecourt.

Chicago has lost seven straight after winning its last nine at Dallas. The last time the Bulls beat the Mavericks in Dallas was on November 29, 1996.

The Mavericks try to win their second straight contest before they embark on a five-game road trip. Dallas will visit the Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz on the swing.

Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 30 points with 11 rebounds, Michael Finley added 23 and Dallas defeated the Toronto Raptors, 122-113, on Sunday afternoon at Air Canada Centre. Josh Howard scored 18 points and Jason Terry netted 15 for Dallas, which has won four of its last six overall.

Center Erick Dampier collected 13 points and pulled down 12 boards for his fifth straight double-double in the win over Toronto. Jerry Stackhouse netted 11 points of the bench for the Mavericks before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a strained right groin. Dallas shot a season-high 60 percent from the floor in the triumph.

Stackhouse is questionable for Tuesday’s game.

Dallas is 17-8 at home this season. The Mavericks have won five of six and 10 of their last 12 as the host.

Nowitzki, who was named to the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve on Tuesday, has scored 20 or more points in 20 of his last 21 games. He is averaging 25.5 points and 9.3 rebounds in his last 10 contests. The 26- year-old forward has posted 23 double-doubles this season.

Dampier has registered five straight double-doubles and is averaging 13 points and 16 rebounds in that span.

The Mavericks start their five-game road swing on Friday against Sacramento at ARCO Arena. Dallas is 1-0 against the Kings this season. The teams will meet twice more in 2004-05, as the MAvs will host Sacramento again on February 24th and visit the Kings on March 24th.

On Sunday, Dallas will visit the Sonics at KeyArena. On December 9th, the Sonics defeated the Mavericks, 107-102, at American Airlines Center.