Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis to play Thursday vs. Warriors in latest step toward back-to-back consistency

A night after the Mavericks ended their six-game losing streak, they’re primed to receive another boost in the lineup.

Kristaps Porzingis is slated to play Thursday night against the Warriors, which will be the second time he’s been active for both halves of a back to back this season.

The Mavericks’ listed no players with injuries on the daily report Thursday afternoon, marking the third game in a row — and this season — they’ll have a full roster available.

After missing the first nine games of the season while recovering from October knee surgery, Porzingis played both games in Dallas’ back to back Jan. 17 against the Bulls and Jan. 18 against the Raptors.

In the two losses, Porzingis averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 32.6 minutes.

He then played only the first game in the Mavericks’ following two back to backs.

While the Mavericks have been cautious with the 7-3, 25-year-old center’s usage after two knee surgeries since February 2018, coach Rick Carlisle said earlier this week Porzingis was progressing toward consistent availability.

“It’s important that everybody understands that we’re working toward a point where he can play back to backs,” Carlisle said Monday before the Mavericks’ loss to the Suns. “We feel like we’re getting close there. His legs, his body, everything feels good. It’s a process of building that stuff back up.

“I should be very clear. He wants to play in all these games. It really bothers him that he can’t be out there to help the team, but these are decisions that are coming from [director of player health and performance] Casey [Smith] and myself in looking at the schedule and also managing his situation on a day-to-day basis. His attitude is great, but he wants to be out there, and as we move on, there’s a good chance that eventually he will be playing back to backs.”

Porzingis’ presence will be especially noteworthy against the Warriors, who will play consecutive games against Dallas on Thursday and Saturday. Golden State’s two centers, Kevon Looney and James Wiseman, are out with injuries, so the Warriors will not have a player available taller than 6-6.

+++

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.