The Dallas Mavericks have played a lot of close games of late.
The results had been unfavorable until the Mavericks followed a blowout victory over San Antonio with a two-point win at Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Dallas will try to notch a third straight win when it hosts the New Orleans Pelicans in an NBA Cup game Tuesday night.
“All these games mean something,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “We haven’t put our best foot forward in certain games. We’ve had some really close wins and some heartbreaking games emotionally. We were able to grind it out for the last two games. It’s a step in the right direction, but we’re not satisfied.”
Dallas’ back-to-back wins were preceded by a four-game losing streak in which the losses came by one, two, three and two points. Things were easier in a 110-93 win over the Spurs, but the 121-119 victory against the Thunder went down to the buzzer.
“It shows the character in our locker room that you can have a tough week and respond with two games where you find a way to win,” coach Jason Kidd said.
The defending Western Conference champion Mavericks are just .500 through 14 games as they adjust to blending former Warriors All-Star guard Klay Thompson with Irving and star guard Luka Doncic.
“It’s hard to win in this league,” Kidd said. “We’re not guaranteed to get back to the Finals. There are a lot of teams in this league that are good.”
Doncic (bruised right knee) didn’t play against Oklahoma City. He is considered questionable to face the Pelicans.
New Orleans is coming off a close game of its own. The Pelicans took a two-point lead against the visiting Lakers with 2:09 remaining Saturday night but scored just two more points and lost 104-99.
New Orleans was outscored 29-15 in the third quarter after holding a 10-point halftime edge.
“We got stagnant as they turned up the heat,” coach Willie Green said. “They’re a good team and they played with force. They made more shots and we just didn’t get into our offense quickly and with the force like we were doing in the previous two quarters.”
The Pelicans have a small margin for error because of the absence of several key players, including second-leading scorer Zion Williamson (22.7 points per game) and their top three ball-handling guards — Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado.
Amid the absences, young players such as guard Brandon Boston Jr., who’s on a two-way contract, and rookie center Yves Missi have taken on bigger roles and contributed.
Boston has averaged 15.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in starting the last seven games, while Missi has supplied 7.0 points and 7.6 boards having started the Pelicans’ last nine contests.
“Each game is different,” said Missi, the 21st pick in June’s draft. “You’ve got to come out with the same energy every day. It’s different in college. You have way more games and you’re playing against the best here.
“So, it’s kind of been a moment of learning. I’m trying to absorb everything and put it on the court. Of course, I’m going to make some mistakes but I feel like it’s about learning.”
McCollum (right adductor strain) practiced on a limited basis Monday and appears close to returning, though he will not play Tuesday.
