For Charles Barkley, however, the vision for the organization is clear: they need to end their "Defense wins championships" experiment because the player at the center of it — Anthony Davis — will never return to full strength, given his age and injury history.

Western Conference foes meet in the middle matchup of the 2025 NBA Christmas schedule when the Golden State Warriors host the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas is 12-19 on the season and enters this matchup 11th in the Western Conference standings.

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Golden State Warriors 126-116 on Christmas Day. It marked the fifth time that Klay Thompson has played his former team, and the fourth time in the Chase Center. He spent 13 years with the franchise, playing 11 (he missed two due to injury), winning four championships and making five All-Star Games.

With five straight losses, the Hawks are willing to be active during trade season. Their eyes are particularly wrapped around Anthony Davis, the Dallas Mavericks forward.

The Dallas Mavericks may be without multiple key players in Thursday's Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Oft-injured Mavericks big man Anthony Davis left Dallas' Thursday game against the Golden State Warriors with what the team called right groin spasms.

Dallas started to chip away a little after Klay Thompson knocked down a mid-range shot, and Cooper Flagg got downhill to draw a goaltend (iffy) on a layup, which brought the lead down to 7. Then, Brandon Williams hit a basket in transition to cut the lead to five with less than seven minutes left.

The game also featured a reunion with longtime teammate Steph Curry, who led the Warriors with 23 points, adding four assists and three rebounds. Cameras captured Curry's interactions with Thompson as the two exchanged pleasantries during and after the matchup.