Mavs-Wolves preview: Road warriors will have to start holiday journey without Luka

MINNEAPOLIS – The Mavericks are one of the few teams in the NBA that has a better road record than home record. So maybe it’s a good thing they are spending the New Year’s holiday in hotels.

They have fallen on hard times at American Airlines Center of late, losing three of their last four in the not-so-friendly confines.

Overall, they are 10-6 on the road and 8-7 at home. Phoenix and Memphis are the only other Western Conference teams with more road wins than home wins.

So bring on the room service and bus rides to the games.

Unfortunately, they’ll have to start this journey to Minnesota, Golden State and Utah without Luka Dončić. The superstar point guard will sit out Thursday’s game to give his sore left quad some time to heal, according to the Mavericks’ afternoon injury report.

In addition, they again will be without Kyrie Irving (heel) and Maxi Kleber (toe).

But for the most part, who plays and who doesn’t hasn’t impacted the Mavericks on the road. They’ve been good no matter who’s in uniform.

This shouldn’t come as a shock. The Mavericks have a history of success on the road and have, for the most part, been a lukewarm team on their home court.

That’s not a reflection on whether or not AAC is a good home-court advantage or not. But it’s been consistent.

Since the COVID-19 season, the Mavericks have been just as hard to beat on the road as they are at home.

In the 2020-21 season, when teams played 72 games, not 82, they were 21-15 both at home and on the road.

In 2021-22, they were 23-18 on the road, which was very commendable. They were 29-12 at home, which was good, but not dominant.

Last season was the aberration, but honestly, they weren’t very good no matter where they played (15-26 on the road, 23-18 at home).

The playoffs?

That’s a bit of a different story. In the 2022 run to the Western Conference finals, the Mavericks were 6-2 on their home floor and 3-7 on the road.

And if you’re going to be dominant at home, the playoffs would be a good time to do so.

But for now, the Mavericks are on the road and need to embrace it – and prosper. Even without Luka.

Here’s what else to look for in Thursday’s visit to the Timberwolves:

• While the Mavericks’ road success is impressive, it must be noted that Minnesota is 12-1 on its home floor.
• The Wolves are no doubt stinging from Tuesday’s 129-106 blitzing by the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road. In that game, the Thunder shot 60.4 percent and 46.2 percent (18-of-39) from three-point land.
• Nevertheless, the Wolves are rolling along atop the Western Conference and it’s not a fluke. They have put together a strong team that has size and athleticism. Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns pose big matchup problems for everybody. And Anthony Edwards is one of the best young guards in the league with a well-rounded offensive game, averaging 25.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his fourth season.
• The Mavericks had a season-high-tying 12 steals in Wednesday’s 113-110 loss to Cleveland at AAC. They also had just 10 turnovers, marking the 13^th time this season they’ve had 10 or fewer giveaways in a game, tied for most in the NBA.
• Luka has had at least two steals and two blocked shots in each of the last two games, the first time he’s done that in his career.

MAVERICKS (18-13) at MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (22-7)

When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday, Target Center, Minneapolis.

TV: Bally’s Sports Southwest.

Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

X: @ESefko