The Dallas Mavericks will aim to regroup on Tuesday when they continue a six-game homestand, hosting an Indiana Pacers group on the second date of a four-game road swing.

Dallas dropped the second game of its home stretch on Sunday, coughing up a lead of as many as 27 points in a 111-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“As a team, we’ve got to mature,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said in Sunday’s postgame press conference. “We got a lot of new bodies coming back, and we have to grow up if we want to win a championship. There’s no young team that’s ever won a championship, mentally or physically.”

Dallas embarks on the final weeks of the regular season seeking to overcome the growing pains associated with roster changes — most notably, the addition of Kyrie Irving in a trade that sent Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie to Brooklyn.

After winning their first two with Irving in the lineup, the Mavericks have dropped four of five heading into Tuesday’s matchup. They lost three straight going into the All-Star break, rebounded with a blowout of the last-place San Antonio Spurs last Thursday, then backslid against the Lakers.

A consistent scoring option to complement Irving and Luka Doncic, who is neck-and-neck with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid for the NBA scoring lead at 33.1 points per game, has been missing amid the slide. Sunday’s loss marked the second time in the Mavericks’ last four games in which any of the three starters other than Doncic and Irving failed to score more than six points.

Meanwhile, Indiana comes into Dallas having won its second game in three outings — the team’s best stretch since enduring a brutal spell losing 16 of 18 from Jan. 11 through Feb. 13.

The Pacers were without point guard Tyrese Haliburton for 10 of those 18 games.

Haliburton — whose 10.2 assists per game rank second in the NBA — has consecutive double-doubles since the All-Star break, going for 22 points and 14 assists with three steals in an overtime loss last Wednesday against Boston. He followed up with 15 points and 14 assists in Indiana’s 121-108 win Saturday to open the road trip at Orlando.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle lauded the offensive chemistry between Haliburton and big man Myles Turner, who scored a game-high 24 points in Saturday’s win.

“This has been a wonderful opportunity for Myles to play with a playmaking guard of Tyrese’s caliber,” Carlisle said. “A couple weeks ago we checked, they were top five or six in the league as a successful pick-and-roll connection.

“Myles is getting all different kinds of stuff,” Carlisle added. “He’s getting rolls for dunk, he’s getting a little bit of mid-range, he’s getting looks at (3-pointers).”

Turner is averaging 18.1 points per game, more than 3.5 ahead of his career’s season-best scoring output. He’s shooting career highs both from 3-point range at 40.2 percent and overall at 54.5 percent from the floor.

His 24 points on Saturday followed tying a career-high with 40 points against Boston.

–Field Level Media

These are heady times for the Sacramento Kings, who are 10 games over .500 for the first time since finishing 50-32 in 2004-05.

The Kings will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Tuesday when they conclude a three-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The teams are meeting for the second time in three days after Sacramento defeated the Thunder 124-115 on Sunday night.

De’Aaron Fox had 33 points and eight assists to lead the Kings, who lead the league in scoring at 120.7 points per game. Keegan Murray scored 20 points in the victory, while Domantas Sabonis added 14 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.

Two days after outlasting the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime, the Kings put together another strong offensive effort against Oklahoma City.

Sacramento jumped to a 13-point lead against the Thunder and never trailed in the contest. The Kings shot 52.9 percent from the field and 18 of 43 (41.9 percent) from 3-point range.

“The effort it takes to defend them for 48 minutes is substantial because they play with great pace, they have good creators and they’ve got shooting everywhere,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “So it’s not easy to do. But if you want to win the game, that’s what you have to do.”

Fox is averaging 34.4 points, 6.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals over the last seven games while shooting 57.9 percent from the field.

Sacramento, which currently holds the third seed in the Western Conference, believes they have the staying power to snap the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons.

“I think all of the guys in the locker room know we’re a really good team,” Murray said. “We’re just trying to prove it to everyone else around the league.”

The Kings are looking for a three-game series sweep of Oklahoma City, which could be without All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the third straight game.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranks fifth in the league in scoring at 31.0 points per game, is listed as day-to-day due to an abdominal strain and right ankle soreness.

With Gilgeous-Alexander sidelined, third-year guard Isaiah Joe has averaged 26 points in the past two games. Joe is shooting 10 of 20 (50 percent) from 3-point range over that stretch while also contributing on the defensive end.

“As I’ve said 100 times, he’s a complete player,” Daigneault said. “You can’t just be one-dimensional and play in the NBA, especially at his size. He’s a feisty competitor, he knows the schemes. That’s what allows you to keep him on the court.”

Oklahoma City is riding a three-game losing streak, but the young team can point to a number of bright spots. Second-year guard Josh Giddey had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists in Sunday’s loss.

Even with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, the Thunder were able to stay within striking distance of Sacramento on Sunday. The team’s consistent effort made an impression on Kings coach Mike Brown.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re down 15, down 20, up 20, they’re playing the same way,” Brown said. “They’re coming at you on both ends of the floor with physicality, that if you don’t match it, you’re going to get run out of the gym.”

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Bulls hope to gain on a team that is ahead of them in the playoff race when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.

The Bulls were 11th in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the ninth-place Raptors, after a 102-82 home victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

The Raptors had their season best four-game winning streak end Sunday with a 118-93 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite the setback, the Raptors have won seven of their past nine games.

The Bulls and Raptors have split two meetings this season with the home team prevailing.

Former Raptors stalwart DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls to their second consecutive victory with 29 points against the Wizards on Sunday.

Chicago earned the victory with some scrappy play.

“I still think we can be better offensively,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “We have to find ugly ways to win games because (Sunday) we didn’t shoot it well. When we’re not great offensively, we have to find other ways to win.”

The Bulls scored 25 points off 16 Wizards turnovers and held them to 15 points in the fourth quarter.

“Doing the right thing, making each game count, playing the right way and playing for each other,” said Zach LaVine, who scored 27 points Sunday. “We’re just doing everything the right way. We play defense like that every game, I think we’ll be all right. Just effort and energy. Holding people accountable and going out there with the same mentality, and even if you make a mistake, move on to the next play and do it better.”

After the loss on Sunday, the 10th-place Wizards were just one-half game ahead of the Bulls.

Patrick Beverley, who played his second game for Chicago after being signed as a free agent, did not score while recording five rebounds and one blocked shot, but he already has had a positive influence on the Bulls.

“He’s great, just the communication part between he and I,” Donovan said. “We’re always talking about, ‘OK, what do we want to flow into here? What do we want to run?’ He’s got a real good handle on that. He’s got a really good voice where he can command the ball and say, ‘Let’s get to these spots, let’s execute what we’re doing right now.'”

The Raptors are also in a key stretch of their schedule, playing teams that are close to them in the standings. After the game against Chicago, they play two consecutive road games against the Wizards on Thursday and Saturday.

The game against the Cavaliers, however, provided a reality check for the Raptors.

“We have been doing a much better job of everything defensively and we were just a step slow (Sunday) on everything,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “They got us back on our heels on everything: transition, guarding the ball screen and rolling (to the rim). It was a big difference I think just in energy and intensity.”

The Raptors were playing without Fred VanVleet, who missed his third straight game after the birth of his third child.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 25 points on Sunday. Jakob Poeltl had 13 points and nine rebounds and Scottie Barnes had 12 points.

“We’re going to need to probably score to get our defense set up,” Nurse said. “But there was just not enough offensive makes. We got it to the rim a bunch, we had some great looks at 3, we just didn’t capitalize.”

–Field Level Media

Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting out, the Milwaukee Bucks continue to win.

While the Bucks hope Antetokounmpo can return from a minor knee injury, they also are looking forward to getting a chance at extending the NBA’s longest winning streak to 15 games Tuesday night when they visit the Brooklyn Nets.

Milwaukee is 7-5 when Antetokounmpo sits out.

He has played 15 minutes over his past two games. Antetokounmpo exited a 12-point win in Chicago after six minutes before the All-Star break with a sprained right wrist and then departed after nine minutes Friday in a 29-point rout of Miami when he tweaked his right knee in the first quarter.

Milwaukee held out Antetokounmpo on Sunday and won the type of game it might encounter in the playoffs when it outlasted the visiting Phoenix Suns for a 104-101 victory. The Bucks were able to withstand their star’s absence by getting big performances from Jrue Holiday and former Net Brook Lopez. The club matched the 1972-73 team for the fourth-longest run in team history.

Holiday scored 33 points and also got the key steal against Phoenix’s Devin Booker with 11 seconds remaining. Lopez scored 22 and also hit the tiebreaking layup off a feed from Khris Middleton with 24.8 seconds left.

“I don’t think we’re too excited how long we’re on this win streak but we’re excited about each win every night,” Middleton said. “That’s what it’s all about, I think.”

Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.9 points during the streak, including a 50-point showing Jan. 29 against New Orleans and a 54-point performance in a comeback win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 4. He also has scored at least 30 points nine times during the streak.

Besides the star forward’s recent showings, Holiday is averaging 20.2 during the streak and 28.0 over his past four games.

Before Milwaukee’s current run, the Nets held the NBA’s longest winning streak of the season when they won 12 straight. One of those wins was Dec. 23, when Brooklyn shot 49.5 percent in a 118-100 home win over the Bucks, who made just 9 of 37 3-point tries.

Now, the Nets are trying to figure out their new roster on the fly while hoping to avoid falling further down in the playoff race following the trades of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Brooklyn is 9-14 since the winning streak, a stretch that coincided with Durant’s knee injury and trade requests by the two stars. The Nets are also 3-7 since a 17-point home win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 30. They took a 129-127 loss at Atlanta on Sunday heading into a three-game stretch where they face Milwaukee ahead of visits to the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

On Sunday, the Nets erased an 18-point deficit only to lose on a game-winner by Trae Young at the buzzer. Sunday’s loss occurred after they scored just 29 points in the first half in a 131-87 rout at Chicago on Friday.

Cameron Johnson scored 27 against Atlanta for his best game since joining the Nets in the Durant trade. Mikal Bridges added 24 and has three 20-point games since the trade, including his 45-point outing Feb. 15 against visiting Miami.

“You can’t feel sorry for yourself,” Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. “What we have to do is continue to stay together and believe we can get it done.”

Milwaukee is 20-6 in the past 26 regular-season meetings.

–Field Level Media

Quin Snyder will make his debut as Atlanta’s head coach Tuesday night when the Hawks host the Washington Wizards.

Snyder takes over for Nate McMillan, who was fired over the All-Star break. Interim coach Joe Prunty led the Hawks to two straight wins, including Sunday’s buzzer-beating 129-127 victory over Brooklyn.

Snyder, who signed a five-year deal with Atlanta, is best known for the eight years he spent on the bench in Utah from 2014-22. He took the Jazz to the playoffs in six straight seasons, and the 2020-21 team went 52-20 and had the best record in the NBA.

“From our first conversation, it was clear that Quin had all the characteristics we were looking for in our head coach,” Atlanta general manager Landry Fields said. “He has both an incredible basketball and emotional IQ and we share core values and basketball philosophies of having honest communication and collaboration with players, tremendous attention to detail and placing a great emphasis on player development.”

The key may be how Snyder can coexist with Atlanta star Trae Young, who frequently butted heads with McMillan. Despite his defensive deficiencies, Young is one of the more electric offensive players in the league, averaging 27.0 points and 10.2 assists. He scored the game-winning basket as the clock expired to beat the Nets on Sunday.

Dejounte Murray said Atlanta’s fate is up to the players.

“We have no control over what the front office does,” he said. “We’re going to continue to work and try to build as many wins as we can.”

The Wizards have lost two straight since the All-Star Game. Washington is coming off a 102-82 loss at Chicago on Sunday. The Wizards played without Kristaps Porzingis (left knee soreness) and Monte Morris, who was a late scratch with lower back soreness.

“We have to do a better job of screening guys up,” said Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. “Those (16) turnovers were costly. Those are empty possessions for us and leads to some transition opportunities for them. We’ve got to do a better job of that, fighting force with force.”

Washington guard Delon Wright said, “We just have to regroup and bring more effort and more focus.”

The Wizards are led by Bradley Beal, who averages 22.7 points and 5.3 assists. He is shooting a career-best 51.5 percent from the field. In 30 career games against Atlanta, Beal is averaging 21.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

In a scheduling quirk, this will be the first of four meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals over the next six weeks. The Hawks won the series 3-1 last season and have won the series in back-to-back years. The Hawk have prevailed in the last six meetings in Atlanta, where Washington hasn’t won since Dec. 5, 2018.

Both teams are currently in position to make the play-in for the playoffs and have a lot of ground to make up to make the top six in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is No. 8 and entered Monday trailing sixth-place New York by 2 1/2 games. Washington is No. 10 with only a half-game lead over Chicago; the Wizards are 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta.

–Field Level Media