Source: Mavericks to Play 42 Road Games After NBA Adds New Warriors Matchup

After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Tuesday’s NBA Cup Quarterfinal matchup, the Dallas Mavericks waited for an 82nd regular-season game to be added to their schedule. The Golden State Warriors’ loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday provided clarification.

DallasHoopsJournal.com reported that the NBA added a matchup between the Mavericks and Warriors on Sunday, December 15. The Golden State will host the game at Chase Center, starting at 7:30 p.m. CST, and it will be broadcast on NBA TV. 

Due to adding another road game to their schedule, the Mavericks are currently set to play 42 road games and 40 home games in 2024-25. Had the Warriors defeated the Rockets, the add-on game would have been against Houston at the American Airlines Center. If Golden State was defeated in the quarterfinals, it was always pre-determined to be in San Francisco.

Last season marked the unveiling of the NBA In-Season Tournament, now rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup. After the New York Knicks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Quarterfinals, the league adjusted the team’s schedule to rebalance the number of home and away games. The change involved moving a February 26 matchup against the Detroit Pistons from Little Caesars Arena to Madison Square Garden, giving the Knicks their 41st home game.

A league source familiar with the NBA’s scheduling informed DallasHoopsJournal.com that there are “no plans” to make further changes to the league schedule. Assuming that holds, the Mavericks will play three games against the Warriors at Chase Center during the 2024-25 regular season.

The Mavs’ loss to the Thunder in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals and their add-on matchup against the Warriors will count toward the regular season standings. Since each team begins the regular season with 80 games scheduled, the NBA Cup adds two regular season games to every team’s schedule. The NBA Cup Championship game is the only game that doesn’t count toward the regular season standings.

From a short-term perspective, the Mavericks’ hectic travel schedule has only worsened. Since starting a three-game road trip in Denver on November 10, they have played 13 of their last 17 games away from the American Airlines Center.

Dallas last hosted consecutive games on November 6 and 8 and will not do so again until December 19 and 21, when it faces the LA Clippers in a mini-series. The Mavs will play the Thunder and Warriors—two tough Western Conference opponents—three times on the road this season.

Playing 42 road games is not a unique outcome for the Mavericks. Last season, two teams, the New Orleans Pelicans and Pistons, played 40 games at home and 40 on the road. It’s just one of the new wrinkles created by NBA Cup outcomes.