Mavericks hope to stay hot against Magic

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DALLAS — Teams coming to the American Airlines Center are finding a much more difficult opponent in the Mavericks in recent days. The struggling Orlando Magic, who visit Dallas on Saturday night, have been warned.

A healthy Dirk Nowitzki combined with steady production from Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews and the emergence of guards Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell, a midseason rookie signee, have altered the dynamic of the team.

Dallas was stuck in the basement of the Western Conference for the better part of the first two months of the season. Though still without injured starters point guard Deron Williams and center Andrew Bogut, the Mavs (21-32) suddenly find themselves within striking range of the eighth and final playoff spot as the All-Star break nears.

The Mavs have won seven of their last 10 games. Their latest conquest was an overtime victory against the Utah Jazz on Thursday after trailing by 21 points in the third quarter. Barnes scored 31 points in a performance that is quietly becoming commonplace.

“He’s been great — there’s no other word to describe it. He’s totally committed to being a great player,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told reporters following the 112-105 win. “His work ethic is second to none of any player I’ve ever been around as a player or a coach. He is really a relentless worker, loves the game, came here because he relished the opportunity to take on a bigger responsibility.”

During Dallas’ recent hot streak it posted back-to-back wins against the San Antonio Spurs on the road and then the Cleveland Cavaliers at home, plus an impressive victory at Portland.

The Mavs’ strong play has been evident for a longer period at home where they have won six of their last eight and 10 of 15 at home.

“We are just a resilient group. We are going to keep playing hard every single game,” Barnes, who leads Dallas in scoring at 20.4 points a game in his first season with the franchise, told reporters following the 112-105 victory. “We’ve put ourselves in tough situations, some of which we’ve battled out of and some which we haven’t. But this is a great victory for us.”

The Magic (20-35) come to Dallas with just five wins since Dec. 26. They are currently riding a three-game slide, their fourth such losing streak during this downward stretch. After consecutive blowout losses, Orlando fell at home to Philadelphia 112-111.

First-year coach Frank Vogel moved C.J. Watson into the starting point guard spot against Philadelphia. Elfrid Payton started the season at the point and then Vogel turned to D.J. Augustin for a time. On Friday, Vogel told his team that he is sticking with Watson for Saturday’s game against the Mavs.

“C.J. Watson has played the best at the position of late, so he’s getting the nod,” Vogel told reporters following Friday’s practice.

Part of the Magic’s problem has been inconsistent play at point guard, both offensively with scoring and decision-making, and with perimeter defense.

Payton was selected in the 2014 draft by the Magic, who hoped he would be their point guard of the future. So far it hasn’t worked out as planned. And for now, the veteran Watson will lead the Magic at point guard.

“There’s a lot of areas that he needs to improve,” Vogel said of Payton, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “I don’t want to speak about all the negative publicity, quite frankly. He knows the areas that I have been challenging him to improve, and we’ll leave it at that."