Rockets vs. Mavericks Wednesday NBA injury report, odds: Spread drops hard with Luka Doncic, other Dallas players out

Once as high as 10.5-point home favorites for Wednesday's game against the terrible Houston Rockets, the Dallas Mavericks will rest superstar Luka Doncic in the second game of a back-to-back. Mavs big men Max Kleber and JaVale McGee will also sit. The spread is down to -5.5 at Caesars Sportsbook.

It's really not a huge shock Doncic is getting tonight. The Dallas brass likely figures it can still beat rebuilding Houston without him, and the team has a very tough schedule ahead of it. The Mavs will play two vs. Denver, with trips to Boston, Toronto and Milwaukee and a visit from Golden State all on tap.

The Mavericks earned a hard-fought 103-101 home win over the Clippers on Tuesday despite blowing a 25-point lead. In 40 minutes, Doncic had 35 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. He continues to lead the NBA in scoring at 34.4 points per game and is the +250 favorite to win his first MVP Award. Last season, Dallas was 8-9 without Doncic in the regular season. This will be his first missed game this season.

McGee sat Tuesday with a strained neck. He usually starts but doesn't generally play many minutes. Kleber took a hard fall during Tuesday's win over the Clippers and will sit with a lower back contusion. He averages about 25 minutes per night off the bench.

Another reserve, three-point shooter Davis Bertans, could make his season debut tonight as he's not listed on the injury report and the team needs bodies. He has been dealing with a right knee effusion. It probably will be a starting five of Spencer Dinwiddie, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell.

Houston enters on a three-game skid. The Rockets are near the bottom of the NBA in scoring defense at 118.1 PPG. Guard Jalen Green has been a bright spot in scoring at least 20 points in each of the past six games while averaging 26.0 PPG on 53.8% shooting over that span. He is set at over/under 21.5 points tonight. 

Dallas has won the past four in the series and is looking to win five in a row for the first time since a series-best nine-game span from 11/29/10-1/16/13.

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