Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Utah Jazz (1-2) at Dallas Mavericks (2-1), 8:30 p.m.

The Dallas Mavericks shoot for their third consecutive win Tuesday when they welcome the Utah Jazz to American Airlines Center.

The Mavs finished a two-day sweep at Staples Center in Los Angeles last Saturday when Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, as Dallas edged the Los Angeles Clippers, 93-84.

Shawn Marion added 16 points and 11 boards for the Mavericks, who handed the defending champion Lakers a 94-80 loss at Staples Center on Friday. Jason Terry had 16 points and six assists. Erick Dampier finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which has won four straight against the Clippers.

"We're starting to gel, especially defensively. Kaman shot really well against us tonight. So we tried to shut down everyone else," Marion said.

The Jazz, meanwhile, fell to 1-2 on the young season Monday when Houston's Aaron Brooks poured in 19 points and dished out nine assists, as the Rockets used a strong second half to take down Utah, 113-96, at EnergySolutions Arena.

Mehmet Okur paced the Jazz with 21 points. Ronnie Brewer tallied 19 points for Utah, which was coming off a win over the Clippers on Friday. Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko each had 18 points in defeat.

"Obviously we overlooked their talent level out there," said Jazz forward Paul Millsap. "Those guys actually can play. They wouldn't be in the league if they didn't. We have to get out there and play defense."

These two teams split a four-game season series a year ago, with each club winning on its own floor. Utah has dropped four in a row and 13 of its last 15 contests in Dallas.