After surviving a late run by the San Antonio Spurs bench to survive 101-100 in OT on Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks turn around for a quick one-game road trip against the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
13-8 Dallas will go for their third win against 7-12 Phoenix this month, as the Suns have quickly fallen out of the playoff race in the West despite the presence of Steve Nash.
Nash, despite being 37 years old, is still averaging 14.3 points and 9.9 points on 52.9% shooting, but he's no longer the Suns top scorer, as 7'0 center Marcin Gortat is averaging 14.9 points a game.
The absence of Jason Kidd may actually be an advantage for the Mavericks, as they'll be able to put faster defenders (Delonte West, Rodrigue Beaubois and Jason Terry) for most of the night against the two-time MVP, who is still Phoenix's most dangerous shot-creator in the half-court.
Dallas, meanwhile, will try to get their former MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, acclimated, as he looked rusty in his first game back from a four-game sabbatical against San Antonio.
For the season, the 7'0 German is averaging only 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds on 45% shooting, his worst numbers since establishing himself as a perennial All-Star over a decade ago.
The 8:00 PM game will be televised regionally on Fox Sports Southwest.
For the latest news and notes on the Mavericks, head over to Mavs Moneyball, while Bright Side Of The Sun has you covered for everything you wanted to know about one of Dallas' oldest rivals.