It’s a battle between two of the top three picks from the 2018 Draft, as Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks play host to DeAndre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns.

The Mavs won the first meeting back in November 29th, 120-113, while Ayton was still serving his suspension.

HOME TEAM: Dallas Mavericks (29-17, 13-11 at home)

The Mavericks are still in a path of alternating wins and losses, which is now at six games. They will try breaking out of the funk coming off a 107-97 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Luka Doncic blasted the Suns defense in that previous encounter with 42 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists. Tim Hardaway followed suit as he notched 26 points and buried six three-pointers. Kristaps Porzingis was basically shut out (2 pts, 0-for-8 FGs) but was able to grab 13 boards and block three shots.

The trio will be the guys to watch out for over on the Mavs’ side, with Doncic being the primary threat. The Slovenian is averaging 29 points,  9.5 rebounds, 8.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on the season, and could be in a scoring duel versus Devin Booker.

ROAD TEAM: Phoenix Suns (19-27, 10-11 on the road)

The Suns are on a bad stretch. They head to the contest having lost three of their last four game while only scoring 99.7 points per game on 40%-shooting in their last three.

The offense was balanced in that loss to the Mavericks in late November. Leading the way were Kelly Oubre, who had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio, who notched 21 points and dished out nine assists.

Devin Booker was off that night (18 pts, 6-for-16 FGs) but he’s currently in a great tear. Proving to be one of the best scorers today, the 23-year-old is pouring in 33 points and 5.6 assists on 52.5%-shooting in his last seven outings. He’s always on the lookout to outduel the Luka Doncics of the world too.

Big man DeAndre Ayton, meanwhile, will be in his first meeting with the Dallas this season. The double-double machine is tallying 19.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in his last six, and should be aggressive in his match-up with Porzingis and the Mavs’ bigs.

PREDICTION:

Luka and the Mavs will be a little slower than usual as they are playing on consecutive nights, but in the end, they pull out a squeaky 119-116 win.

Booker should be able to put up big points against a tired Mavs defense, though.