DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers will attempt to embarrass Mark Cuban's Mavericks (once again) on Monday night.

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Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas Mavericks (+5, 209.5)

After losing back-to-back games to teams that will watch the playoffs on television, the Dallas Mavericks look to get back on track when they host the playoff-bound Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Dallas melted down late in regulation Sunday while suffering a 116-114 overtime road loss to the Denver Nuggets, three days after experiencing a home defeat against the Sacramento Kings.

The Mavericks had a four-point lead with 21 seconds left in regulation against Denver before being unable to close it out as the Nuggets turned a stolen in-bounds pass into a game-tying dunk. "We just made some crucial mistakes down the stretch," backup power forward David Lee told reporters. "We couldn't really get a stop when we needed to, and it seemed like both teams had the game won three or four different times. It was a hard-fought game, but that's one we need to get." The Clippers are coming off a disappointing 107-97 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday and are 5-4 over the last nine games. "It's too late in the season to have letdowns like the one we had," All-Star point guard Chris Paul told reporters. "That can't happen."

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest (Dallas)

LINE HISTORY: The Clippers opened as 4 1/2 point favorites at most books on Sunday night but by Monday morning that popint spread was adjusted to 5. The total opened at 210 and came down slightly to settle at 209.5 early in the day.

INJURY REPORT:

Clippers - PF L. Mbah a Moute (out Monday, eye).

Mavericks - No injuries to report.

COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Clippers (-8.9) - Mavericks (-3.9) + home court (-3) = Clippers -2.0 

WHAT SHARPS SAY:  "The Clippers continue to play well without Blake Griffin.  Los Angeles is 22-8 SU without Griffin, compared to just 18-13 SU when he played this season.  The team is 19-11 Under in those games without Blake, compared to just 16-15 Under in games he played.  The home team is a perfect 2-0 SU/ATS in the two head-to-head meetings this season which both occurred early in the season when Griffin was still in the lineup.  He combined for 47 points and 19 rebounds in those two games." - Covers Expert Steve Merrill.

DANCE TEAM WAR:

  

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (40-21, 30-28-3 ATS, 26-35 O/U): Center DeAndre Jordan will again be the subject of boos and vicious signs from the Dallas fans because of his last-minute spurning of the Mavericks during the summer free-agent process. Jordan had nine points - he was 3-of-9 from the free-throw line - and 11 rebounds in the Nov. 11 visit to Dallas and is averaging 7.5 points and 13 rebounds in two contests against the Mavericks this season. Jordan has posted 18 consecutive double-digit outings on the boards and ranks second in the NBA in rebounding (14 per game) and blocked shots (2.3).

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (33-30, 34-28-1 ATS, 32-30-1 O/U): Dirk Nowitzki doesn't explode for high-scoring outputs too often at this point in his career but the 37-year-old forward scored 30 points Sunday for his second 30-point performance in six games. Nowitzki also went over 1,000 points for the season, allowing him to join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19), Karl Malone (18), Tim Duncan (17) and John Havlicek (16) as the only players to do so in 16 or more consecutive seasons. Nowitzki is averaging 23.5 points and nine rebounds against the Clippers this season and had 31 points (on 11-of-14 shooting) and 11 rebounds in the Nov. 11 victory.

TRENDS:

* Clippers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss.

* Mavericks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.

* Under is 21-5 in Clippers last 26 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.

* Over is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings.

COVERS CONSENSUS: Bettors were all over the Clippers when the spread opened at 4.5. Since the line shifted to 5 the action has cooled slightly but the Clippers have still taken in 58 percent of the wagers. The public is pounding the over at a clip of 67 percent. "); h = d.getElementById(tid); h.parentNode.insertBefore(s, h); })(document);

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