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Mavericks host Pistons looking to extend success at home

Mar 17, 2009 - 8:36 AM By Anthony Giornalista Stats Senior Writer

Detroit (33-32) at Dallas (40-27), 8:30 pm EDT

DALLAS (AP) -- With playoff spots on the line, this would be a bad time for Dallas and Detroit to fall into slumps. Matchups at American Airlines Center have helped keep the Mavericks out of prolonged losing streaks.

After a disappointing end to a four-game trip, the Mavericks look to win their eighth straight at home when they face the struggling Pistons on Tuesday night.

While Dallas has a four-game lead over Phoenix for eighth place in the Western Conference, Detroit is in seventh in the tightly contested East. Both teams can still move up high enough to have home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, but they also need to play well down the stretch just to hold on to their postseason spots.

"We have a long way to go here, a lot to be determined in 15 games," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of his team's playoff chances. "We have to win a significant portion of our games to do it."

Dallas missed a chance to move ahead of seventh-place Utah, losing two straight after opening a four-game trip with wins over Phoenix and Portland.

The Pistons, meanwhile, have dropped three of five after winning their first four games after star guard Allen Iverson went down with a back injury. They've also been without Rasheed Wallace (calf) the past three games.

Dallas will try to deal Detroit a second straight loss as it returns to American Airlines Center, where it has won seven straight and 24 of 28 after losing its first four. The Mavs have rebounded from road losses with wins at home six times since losing four in a row from Jan. 9-14.

Dallas has outscored its opponents by an average of 12.9 points during its current run at home, but it only played one team with a record better than .500 over that stretch - San Antonio on March 4.

The Mavs are coming off a loss to the only team better than the Spurs in the West, falling 107-100 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Dallas played its fifth straight game without Josh Howard, out with a sprained left ankle. Antoine Wright has been starting in Howard's place.

Detroit moved Richard Hamilton back into the starting lineup after Iverson was hurt, and Antonio McDyess has taken Wallace's spot at center.

McDyess is averaging 17.3 points and 16.2 rebounds in his last four games. He had 19 points and 12 rebounds against Memphis on Sunday, but the Pistons lost 89-84.

Detroit committed 15 turnovers, giving it 48 in its last three games.

"Maybe we have to get back to practice a little more," Pistons coach Michael Curry said. "It's late in the season, we try to give the guys a chance to be fresh, but it seems like it's working in reverse for us because we're turning the ball over too much."

Hamilton had a team-high five turnovers versus the Grizzlies but also had 12 assists, and is averaging 11.7 in his last four games.

The veteran swingman led the Pistons with 17 points in a 112-91 loss to the Mavs on Jan. 23, the teams' first meeting of the season.