The Dallas Mavericks play the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. Tipoff is at 10:30 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream or listen to the radio broadcast via the links provided below.
Dallas lost by one point on opening night to the San Antonio Spurs, but has since gone on to win three straight games for a 3-1 record. Their latest victory came in a 118-113 over the Boston Celtics, thanks in part to Chandler Parson's 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki's 27 points. Although the Mavericks won, the game was an example of how the team has struggling to maintain leads down the stretch.
"It's concerning," Parsons admitted Monday, via ESPN. "I love how we never give up after we give up the lead. But we can't allow these teams to keep coming back in and cutting the lead."
Still, Parsons has made an immediate impact on the team after leaving Houston in the summer. He's averaging 18.8 points per game, slightly higher than Trevor Ariza, the free agent who signed with Houston as Parson's replacement. Despite the Rockets not shelling out money to keep him during the offseason, Parsons said there were no hard feelings.
"I'm still a fan of those guys," said Parsons. "Obviously, I want us to do better. When we play them, I want to beat them. But those are still my friends, and I'm still pulling for coach [Kevin] McHale. I definitely still keep an eye on what they're doing."
He also said he hasn't paid attention to how Ariza has been doing in Houston.
"I don't pay any attention to him," Parsons said. "Listen, many people replace many people every year in this league. He's a good, proven player in this league. He's supposed to play good for them."
Portland, meanwhile, is 2-2. They snapped their two-game losing streak Tuesday with a 101-82 blowout of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Watch the live stream HERE, or listen to the radio broadcast HERE (DAL) and HERE (POR).
