Mavs' Terry Will Need Surgery After Blow to Face

Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry is scheduled to have surgery Friday after taking an elbow to the face during a game. The team said a timetable for Terry's return would be determined after the surgery.

Terry's left eye was nearly swollen shut when he left the Dallas locker room after Wednesday night's 112-109 victory over Minnesota.

Terry was hurt with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. He was called for a foul even though he was sprawled on his back with a bloody nose after took a blow to the face from Corey Brewer, who was dribbling toward midcourt when they collided.

After remaining on the floor for several minutes, Terry went to the locker room briefly. He was back in the game before the end of the third quarter and played the rest of the game with a wad of tissue stick out of his left nostril.

Nowitzki, Beaubois Lead Mavericks Past Kings

Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 12 rebounds, rookie Roddy Beaubois added a career-high 22 points and the Dallas Mavericks extended their season-high winning streak to 10 games with a 108-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Beaubois went 9 for 14 from the field and 3 for 6 on 3-pointers in 24-plus minutes, taking advantage of the absence of the team's No. 2 scorer, Jason Terry. The injured guard, who averages 17 points a game, is expected to miss 10-14 days following Friday's surgery to repair facial injuries sustained in Wednesday night's win over Minnesota.

With the victory that improved the league's longest active streak, the Mavericks clinched their 10th consecutive season over .500.

Carl Landry had 21 points, and Beno Udrih and Tyreke Evans each added 20 for the Kings, who'd won three of their previous four.

After trailing by as many as 10 in the first half, Dallas closed the third quarter with a 9-1 run with the help of Shawn Marion's back-to-back baskets, building an 85-72 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes.

Game 55: Mavs vs. Kings

This is simply a quick pick. The Mavs are tired from coming off a loss to the Rockets last night. My QP for this game is: Dallas Mavericks, Score: 105-98.

I like the Stars in this one: 3-1

Home Court

Game 16: Mavs vs. Kings

I think that looks more like fire and a crown... whatever. Sacramento has a 5-11 record and the Mavericks are currently 7-7 (prepared Wednesday). Just because a team has won less than a third of their games doesn't necessarily mean that they will be a cake walk. Still, I really wonder who is going to win this game... NOT.

Mavs to Watch:

• Dirk Nowitzki: 24.6 PPG; 8.6 RPG
• Josh Howard: 20.3 PPG; 8.2 RPG (could be ready to play)
• Jason Terry: 19.1 PPG
• Jason Kidd: 10.2 PPG; 7.4 RPG; 8.4 APG

Kings to Watch:

• Kevin Martin: 22.4 PPG (could be ready to play)
• John Salmons: 18.5 PPG
• Brad Miller: 12.6 PPG; 7.7 RPG
• Spencer Hawes: 12.3 PPG; 7.1 RPG; 1.8 blocks
• Jason Thompson: 11.4 PPG; 7.0 RPG

Francisco Garcia has been out since October 20th, and could be ready to play by Friday, which means he could be ready to play the Mavericks on Saturday. Garcia and Martin both returning could bring a completely different dynamic to this game.Forecast: Despite the possibility of having Martin and Garcia back in uniform for the Kings, I would have to think that the Kings will still be trying to find their groove with the returning players. It could spell out some sloppy play on the court for them, especially with Garcia. That gives the hot Mavericks team a big intangible and ultimately the game. Look for the score to be fairly one-sided: 102-89.

Home Plate

The Dallas Mavericks vs. The Sacramento Kings

Dallas vs. Sacramento

Well, I mentioned Dallas going up against a high school team in my last post? Here it is. OK, OK, OK... well, maybe not. Sometimes the sleeper teams are the most competitive. And then sometimes, they are exactly what they are billed as, a sleeper team, one that lies down and takes their beating like they are supposed to (IE: Mavs in the mid 90's, actually the entire decade of the 90's, really).

Mavs sport the best record (61-12) in the NBA and are 4 wins away from clinching the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Should they win tonight, they will clinch the division. They already have a home-court advantage in the first round, since they will have the 2nd or better record in the Western Conference (I say second, because all San Antonio can do is tie with the Mavs at this point). The Kings have a 30-42 record, and have clinched a losing record. They are 5 1/2 games behind the Clippers for the #8 seed.

In "Reality World", the Kings are or at least should be thinking about the lottery and next season, and not so much about winning games at this point. What I mean by that is player evaluation. What should be happening is the playing of lower-key and bench players, especially the youth, if any to see if they have learned anything of the course of the year. Maybe Douby, Price, Potapenko, and Williams can play when they get some minutes? Who knows really. I don't think they are in the NBA simply to take up space... do you?

The Kings are coming off of loses to both LA teams, the Clippers and the Lakers, respectively. The Kings also won two of their last twelve, winning against Phoenix 107-100 and Orlando 95-83. So this team can play if they want to, but the question is: do they want to play tonight?

Dallas last played the Kings and won 106-104 on January 27th. The Mavs also played them on December 18th and December 1st, winning both of those times, as well: 109-91 (the 18th) and 109-90 (1st). This is the last game of the season for the two teams, and unless the Kings decide that they can all of a sudden break out of the egg shell that they some how put themselves in, and the miracle that would need to happen to the other teams, the Mavericks and the Kings will not see each other in the playoffs. I'm definitely bored talking about this game... geez.

Mavs are going to return to form, no stress on Dirk tonight as he begins to knock down everything he puts up, the game is going to look more lopsided than five fat people all sitting on one side of a paddle boat.

Forecast: Mavs over Kings 120-87

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday, November 1st

NBA
Mavs (0-0) vs. Suns (0-0)
Wow-E-Wow! The season begins. This one starts in the land of the hot sun. And with Nash attack, Captain MVP, who is going to take this one? Well, for the NBA title, I don’t there is much doubt that the Spurs are just in wait for the trophy, but getting there could be fun to watch. Stranger things, am I right? So, let’s see. Suns will try to score a ton of points. Dallas is going to try to slow things down. Both went 6-2 in pre. Amare is out for 4 months. That could be the edge Dallas needs, but I am skeptical at best on this one. Amare was the Suns leading scorer last year. And he is gone. Nash is a magician and this is his former team… Dirk is looking for redemption. AJ feels confident, but he is the coach and that is his job. I… will say the intangibles go to Dallas, but I am scared to say it. Mavs take this one on a squeaker, score: 95-92

Spurs (0-0) vs. Nuggets (0-0)
Spurs: doesn’t that say it all? This team could beat any Olympic dream team any day… OK, maybe not the first dream team, but they could give them a run for their money. Spurs win this one: 1,000,000-95. (Reality, 99-92)

Wednesday, November 2nd

NBA
Mavs (1-0) vs. Jazz (0-0)
Well, the Jazz just don’t play. 2-5 in pre is definitely nothing to brag about. In a word: rebuild. For the Mavs: cakewalk. Prediction: Mavs take it, 105-89.

Rockets (0-0) vs. Kings (0-1)
This should be a good game. I like Yo-Yo. I mean, Yao-Yao. Do you get the Ming of what I am saying? I mean the meaning? This is the opener for the Rockets. The Kings second game on the road, so with the Rockets at home against a back to back Kings, it could be interesting. Intangibles definitely go to the Rockets. Well, the Sheriff (Shareef) is going to be in town, and the Kings are picked for tops in their division. I’m not sold on it yet, though. They will make the playoffs, but won’t go far in my book. Being this is the first for Houston, home court, Kings going back to back road nights, Rockets will win this one. Score: 91-87.

NHL
Stars (6-4-1) vs. Kings (8-4-0)
The Kings play hockey, too? OK, let’s do it again… the Sheriff… oh wait, the LA Kings… gotcha. Again, should be a good game between these two, if you like hockey. Not a big fan, but doing this blog, I am gaining interest… LA is 6-3 at home, Stars are 3-1 on the road. Stars are better away from here… interesting. LA and Dallas are first and second, respectfully, in their division. Stars, even with a winning record, have given up more points than scored, whereas LA is killer. They have scored 11 more goals than their opponents. So, I don’t know if I really need to dig for more stats. That tells me pretty much the goods on this game. Kings take this one. Score: 4-2.