Mavs/Rockets TNT 8:30 CST tonight who wins? Preview/Prediction

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The Dallas Mavericks were already going to face a tough task Thursday, trying to snap the Houston Rockets 16 game win streak. Now, they'll have to try and beat their surging division rival without leading scorer and reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks (39-22) are looking to win their seventh straight over Houston (40-20), which set a new franchise record for consecutive wins on Wednesday with a 117-99 victory over the Pacers. Houston has lost 10 of 11 trips to the Big D. The only win during that stretch was a 124-114 victory back on Jan. 12th, 2005. Nowitzki, will be sidelined, however, as he serves his one-game suspension for a flagrant foul he committed during Monday's 116-110 loss to Utah. The foul - which left Andrei Kirilenko with a sprained hip - was orgininally specified as flagrant-2, but the league upgraded it Wed. to a flagrant-1, which calls for suspension. Nowitzki had been playing well recently, averaging 30.4 PPG in the last 10 games. Thursday will be the first game he's missed this season. The Rockets are also playing without their big man. With Wednesday's win, Houston improved to 4-0 since center Yao Ming was declared out for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. T-Mac scored 25 in the win over the Pacers, and Alston added 21 as the Rockets won their 16th straight and the 20th in 21 games. "This was a big win for us, we were trying to make history," said McGrady, who also had 6 boards and 5 assists. The victory was also Houston's 7th straight of 10 poitns or more. Houston forward Shane Battier said the team wasn't going to celebrate the record for too long, however. "I think most of us are already focused on Dallas," said Battier, who had 7 points against the Pacers after scoring 20 in a 103-89 win over Denver 3 nights ago. "We know that this game, whil significant, doesn't really guarantee us anything." Dallas, though, is trying to avoid losing 3 straight games for just the 2nd time this season, and the first time since late November. The Mavs open a 5 game homestand Thursday after dropping 2 on the road against the Lakers and Jazz. I believe Dallas will win because of their recent losses that will motivate them, their motivation due to the Dirk suspension, and Kidd getting more and more involved with their offense.