Atlanta Hawks vs. Dallas Mavericks preview: Welcoming Dirk

After beating up on the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks host the Dallas Mavericks, where Mike Budenholzer’s team will look to grab a winning record for the first time after the All-Star break.

The Mavericks are coming off of a 92-81 win over the Charlotte Hornets where Monta Ellis went for 23 points and Richard Jefferson grabbed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Amar’e Stoudemire had a productive night off of the bench for the Mavs as well in his first game with the team, scoring 14 points in 11 minutes and adding three rebounds while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.

Dallas is currently third in the Southwest Division and the 5th overall seed in the Western Conference with a 38-20 record. They bring in the league’s No. 4 offense, scoring 105.9 points per game, which is just slightly better than the Hawks 102.9 points per game–No. 7 in the league.

While Ellis leads the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game, Dirk Nowitzki is right behind him with 17.9 and has a 20.2 PER to go along with it.

In the teams’ first meeting this season, the Hawks came away with a 105-102 victory. Tonight they’ll look to sweep them in their last game against them in the regular season.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) before and during the game for updates, analysis and opinions on the matchup.