Dallas at New Orleans

There is no doubt the New Orleans Hornets are struggling early and a loss to the Knicks just made that a bit clearer. The Mavericks have started fast and already own a win on the road vs the Lakers and Utah, never an easy venue to grab a win. The Mav's Dirk Nowitski is on fire and had an amazing 29 points in the fourth quarter, topping the Mavs record of 24 held by Mark Aguirre. Nowitski also had 11 boards, five blocks, five assists and is playing very hot right now, making Dallas a very difficult matchup for a struggling team. The Mavs have dispatched the Hornets in 24 of the last 29 meetings and are playing to well right now to overlook them as a live dog in this one. Dallas gets the call.