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Mavericks look to snap two-game skid

Mar 16, 2007 - 2:45 PM Boston (19-45) at Dallas (52-11) 8:30 pm EDT

DALLAS (Ticker) -- Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks are actually coming off back-to-back losses heading into Friday's game against the Boston Celtics.

Dallas started the season with four straight losses but has since been the league's most dominant team, winning 52 of 57 games en route to the league's best record.

But the Mavericks have dropped their last two contests, including a 129-127 double-overtime loss to Phoenix in a battle of the NBA's top two teams on Wednesday. Dallas also had its franchise-record 23-game home winning streak snapped.

With the loss, the Mavericks now are just 2 1/2 games ahead of the Suns (50-14) for the top spot in the Western Conference and the NBA's best record. The teams will meet again on April 1.

Nowitzki, who is having his best all-around season, struggled during crunch time on Wednesday. The superstar forward made just 1-of-2 free throws in the final seconds of regulation before former Mav Steve Nash hit the game-tying 3-pointer for Phoenix.

Nowitzki also missed a possible game-winning jumper at the end of regulation and a game-tying shot at the end of the second overtime.

But Dallas should be able to right the ship against the Celtics, who own the NBA's second-worst record. Boston is coming off a 109-88 win over Atlanta on Wednesday.

The Celtics are four games ahead of Memphis (16-50) in the race for the most ping-pong balls in the upcoming draft lottery.

This will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season. They will play in Boston on March 23.