NETS GAMENIGHT: #Mavs (25-19) @ #Nets (18-22)

Dallas Mavericks (25-19) @ Brooklyn Nets (18-22)

Barclays Center 7:30

TV: YES – RADIO: WFAN 660/101.9FM

[quote_simple]NETS STARTERS
The starting lineup tonight will be  Shaun Livingston playing alongside Alan Anderson in the backcourt with Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce up front and the man in the middle Kevin Garnett.

Brooklyn is officially on a roll winning eight of their last nine games and three straight overall to creep back into the Atlantic Division race just 2.5 games back.

The outlook for the Nets has changed dramatically in January and defense has shown the way for this veteran team.  They are giving up almost 10 points per game less and look much more comfortable on the floor with one another .  Brooklyn has held opponents under 100 points in eight of the last nine games.

Joe Johnson is playing inspired basketball right now and the Nets are 9-3 this season when he scores 20 or more points, including a 5-0 mark in Brooklyn’s last seven games.

[box]Injury News: No News

Deron Williams came off the bench for the second time in 169 career games as a Net and dished out nine assists with just one turnover.  He will continue to come off the bench for the foreseeable future as the team continues it new year run.

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MAVERICKS S STARTERS

The Mavericks starting lineup will be Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis in the backcourt with Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and  Samuel Dalembert playing in the frontcourt.

Dallas is trying to complete a three-game road swing against the Eastern Conference on a positive note with a win in Brooklyn tonight.

The Mavericks lost at Toronto on Wednesday night and did so without leading scorer Nowitzki as he took the night off.

Monta Ellis scored a team-high 21 points against the Raptors and turned the ball over a season-high eight times out of the teams 21 total turnovers.

[quote_simple][box]Game Notes:

The Nets are looking for their season-best seventh straight victory at Barclays Center.

The Nets have held their opponent under 60 points through three quarters a total of three times this season.

The Nets’ starting five of Livingston, Anderson, Johnson, Pierce and Garnett is now 6-0 this season.

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[box]WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Keep the flow going

Andray  Blatche is averaging 19.0 points in his last three games and Joe Johnson is scoring 22.9 over his last seven games as the Nets start to come together as a team

Deron Williams will come off the bench for the third straight game after returning from a five-game absence and he seems to like playing the Mavericks averaging 27.5 points in the last two meetings.

The Nets and Mavericks split last season’s two-game series with the road team winning each.

Brooklyn needs to continue to play great team defense tonight to be able to come away with the win at home against a surprising Mavericks team and keeping the flow going  is a must.

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[box]INJURY REPORT

NETS

Brook Lopez  – OUT (ankle)

MAVERICKS

Gal Mekel  – OUT (right knee surgery)

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