The Portland Trail Blazers (2-1) will face off against the Dallas Mavericks (2-1) in each team's fourth game of the NBA season. Despite the loss of star forward Dirk Nowitzki for ten days due to arthroscopic knee surgery, the Mavs have begun their 2012-2013 campaign on a fairly high note. Although it's still extremely early in the season, Dallas' brand new backcourt has continued to fill the void left by the injured Nowitzki.

On Saturdays win against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Mavericks compiled their highest point total since March 10, 2011 when they won by a 126-99 margin. New team members O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison posted 13 and 18 points respectively. Mayo shot for a career-high seven 3-pointers while Collison landed two. The guard is averaging 18 points per game for the first time since his rookie year. Collison is at 17.3 points with 7 assists, which are lifetime highs for him as well.

Despite Dallas' superb long-rang shooting, they did turn the basketball over 22 times. They'll look to improve their ball control in Monday night's matchup. Mavs coach Don Nelson spoke to NBA about addressing the team's mishaps amid their effective overall performance.

"You make 16 3s, you're not going to lose many games, and it was a bit of a deodorant for some of our other transgressions. We look to make strides, mild as they may be, and get better," he said.

For the Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard has gotten of to a hot start. The point guard scored eight of his 20 points on Saturday in OT to help put Portland over the Houston Rockets 95-85.

CLICK HERE to watch the Dallas Mavericks take on the Portland Trail Blazers via free live stream. Coverage of the game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 5.

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