This is the second meeting in three days for the Clippers and the Mavericks. The latter took Thursday’s game, which was also here in Dallas, 112-105. Hours after saying goodbye to teammate Kristaps Porzingis (traded to Washington), Luka Doncic ran wild with a 51-point game.

The Clippers have failed to cover their last five games. Blame the defense. During the 0-5 ATS skid, they are giving up an average of 123.2 points per contest. That is bad.

Dallas has won four straight, all at home. They now have a 20-10 home record for the season. They are simply better than the Clippers, who are still without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

So can the Mavericks cover the spread again? I think so. They’re playing good defense this year: #3 in points allowed for the season, allowing 101.4 points per game at home and 100.6 the last five games.

Before losing to Dallas on Thursday, LA was blown out in two straight games. They lost by 24 to Milwaukee and 26 to Memphis. Lay the points here.