Only two games make up the Thursday night NBA schedule, but all of Texas is included. The injury-slash-rest depleted Spurs face the cruising Houston Rockets to start the evening, while the Mavs take on the Blazers to finish it.
NBA schedule: Mavs face Trail Blazers, Spurs visit Rockets
Three Texas teams take the Thursday spotlight on TNT.
The main course
Mavericks vs. Blazers, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Dallas Mavericks have quickly proved themselves as an offensive juggernaut behind Dirk Nowitzki and free agent signee Chandler Parsons. Through their first four games, the Mavs lead the NBA by averaging 111 points per game and at 118 points per 100 possessions, but it doesn't mean their games have been blowouts. The defense has done just enough to jump out to a 3-1 start, and it'll need to show better against the Blazers. Terry Stotts' crew has started a tough schedule with a 2-2 record, and Portland's surprisingly stingy defense will need to stump a deeper Dallas team. It'll help if LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard can both put together strong offensive nights, something that's yet to happen so far this year.
TV: TNT
More on this game: Mavs Moneyball | Blazer’s Edge
The appetizer
San Antonio hasn't been itself early on in the season. Gregg Popovich's crew slipped by Dallas to open the season, fell at Phoenix and barely held off the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. The expected offensive precision hasn't been there, and it's bad news for a team that faces the Houston Rockets, winners of the last five games in the teams' series and winners of all five games to start the year -- they've won by double-digits in every game so far this season. Worse news for the Spurs is that they'll be without Tim Duncan (rest), Manu Ginobili (rest), Marco Belinelli (groin strain), Tiago Splitter (calf tightness) and Patty Mills (shoulder), according to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt.
TV: TNT
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