• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Surging Hawks set to take on Mavericks

Dec 29, 2007 - 2:26 PM Atlanta (15-12) at Dallas (19-11) 1:00 pm EST

DALLAS (Ticker) - The Atlanta Hawks go for their sixth straight win on Saturday when they visit the struggling Dallas Mavericks.

The Hawks have won five straight and eight of their last 10 - including a 107-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers during their last game on Wednesday. Joe Johnson paced Atlanta during the win, scoring 26 points while adding 11 assists for his third double-double of the season.

Johnson has led the Hawks during their recent surge, averaging 28.2 points and 7.8 assists during the winning streak. For the season, the 26-year-old guard leads Atlanta with 22.3 points and 5.6 assists per contest.

The Mavericks dropped their second straight game on Thursday, suffering a 88-81 setback to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as Dallas lost back-to-back games after a five-game win streak.

Nowitzki, who was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player last season, averaged 23.8 points and scored 30 or more points three times during Dallas' five-game win streak. However, the 7-foot sniper has averaged just under 20 points over his last two games as the Mavericks have lost by a combined 16 points.

Dallas also averaged more than 101 points during their five wins while scoring 90 and 81 in its last two games, respectively.