Despite a rare off night for Steph Curry, the Warriors rallied to beat the Heat 115-108, mainly behind Jordan Poole. He finished with 32 points in the victory and Draymond Green also added 13 assists. Curry was 3 of 17 from the field and missed 9 of 10 three-point attempts. However, he should get back on track in this primetime matchup against Doncic and the Mavs.<\/span><\/p>\n Thursday’s matchup with the Warriors won’t any ordinary regular-season game as the Mavericks will be retiring franchise veteran Dirk Nowitzki’s No. 41 jersey. So there’s going to be huge motivation for the home team to get the win on this special occasion. While they’re still without Porzingis, Luka Doncic has returned to the lineup after missing most of December and his minutes restriction looks to be lifted after playing 34 against Denver. In the 103-89 victory over the Nuggets, their defence was excellent by allowing just 89 pts and they’ll need a similar gameplan against Steph Curry’s Warriors.<\/span><\/p>\n Driven by the emotion surrounding the Dirk Nowitzki jersey retirement, we can see the Mavericks giving the Warriors a scare. Their defence was impressive against the Nuggets this week and they also have a good recent record against the Warriors. In the last 10 meetings, they’re 8-2 ATS and they’ve won 6 of the last 7 meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n Stadium Record<\/b><\/p>\n Dallas are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games at home. Golden State are 2-3 in their last 5 games in Dallas.<\/span><\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/b><\/p>\n The Mavericks have won 7 of the last 10 meetings. They also trashed the Warriors 133-103 in April this year.<\/span><\/p>\n Best Bet<\/b><\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks +5.5 = $1.91<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The Heat’s 6 game road trip continues to Portland where they’ll be looking to end a 2 game losing streak. They’ve lost back to back games against the Kings and Warriors. To make matters worse, Jimmy Butler injured his ankle against the Warriors and will be out for this game. So the short-handed Heat will look to lean on their backcourt via Lowry and Herro. Yurtseven has also shown promise at the centre position as they’re missing Adebayo.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s a similar story for the banged-up Trail Blazers as they’re desperately missing the likes of Lillard and McCollom. However, they will be coming off a nice 136-131 win over the Hawks in what was a fast-paced contest. One of the standouts was Anfernee Simons as he led the team with a massive 43 points and 7 assists. So he should enjoy more playing time against the Heat with the Trail Blazers missing key pieces in their frontcourt.<\/span><\/p>\n This should be a close and high scoring contest between two sides that are missing some firepower. However, we don’t mind the underdog Heat as the Trail Blazers have struggled defensively. In their last 2 games, they’ve allowed 130+ points and we can’t see Simons saving them by scoring 43 pts again. So look for the Heat to take advantage of their defensive woes through the combination of Herro and Lowry.<\/span><\/p>\n Stadium Record<\/b><\/p>\n The Trail Blazers have lost 8 of their last 10 home games. Miami holds a 2-5 record in Portland.<\/span><\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/b><\/p>\nMiami Heat (23-15) at Portland Trail Blazers (14-22)<\/b><\/h3>\n