There’s too much time left in the season to truly call Tuesday night’s matchup of the LA Lakers and Dallas Mavericks a winner-take-all game.
But, tonight's contest is as close to a must-win game as both teams have faced all season.
The Lakers (38-36) enter having lost four of their last six games and haven’t defeated a playoff team in more than two weeks. Despite their underwhelming performance recently, they still trail the eighth-seed Utah Jazz by only a half-game.
As has been the case throughout the season, this game will hinge on L.A.’s ability to overcome its injury woes. Metta World Peace (knee) will not play again in the regular season and, according to the LA Times, Steve Nash is considered doubtful with a strained hamstring.
Meanwhile, the surging Mavericks (36-37) will have nearly their full complement of players. Dallas has won four of its last five games but still needs to jump ahead of both the Lakers and Jazz to keep their 12-year postseason streak alive.
LA has won two of three meeting ...
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Article written by Ken Dorset