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Mavericks aim for perfect road trip, visit Utah

Apr 8, 2014 - 2:05 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Dallas Mavericks shoot for a perfect road trip and a step closer to a playoff berth when they visit the Utah Jazz Tuesday.

The Mavericks have defeated both Los Angeles teams and Sacramento to start off the trip and are unbeaten in the past five road games. They are clinging to the seventh spot in the Western Conference -- just a half-game ahead of Phoenix and 1 1/2 games in front of Memphis.

Dallas recorded a 93-91 victory over the Kings on Sunday, as Monta Ellis scored 23 points and Vince Carter added 17. Dirk Nowitzki and Jose Calderon netted 15 and 14 points, respectively for the Mavericks, who are 22-17 away from home this season.

After the Mavs visit Salt Lake City, they will host San Antonio and Phoenix before closing out the regular season in Memphis.

"It's going to be tough these last few games, but we just have to stay together, ride the course and get as many wins as we can," Ellis said.

In milestone news, Nowitzki (26,693) is 18 points shy of passing the great Oscar Robertson (26,710) for 10th place on the all-time scoring list.

Utah will play back-to-back home games versus Dallas and Portland, and has a 16-22 record as the host.

The Jazz are winding down what has been a disappointing season and suffered a 130-102 setback at Golden State the last time out on Sunday. Klay Thompson poured in 33 points and Stephen Curry netted 31 with a career high-tying 16 assists to lead the Warriors.

"Curry and Thompson got hot early. They got open looks," Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Utah shot a decent 45 percent and was led by Trey Burke's 24 points and 15 assists. Alec Burks also scored 24 points and sank 14-of-16 free throws, while Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward netted 10 points apiece.

Utah has lost 17 of its last 20 games and is 0-3 against Dallas this season. The Mavericks have won the last four games in this series and are 11-3 in the previous 14 matchups.