The stakes were significantly lower the last time the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets played against each other, just 12 days ago. Not this time around. The implications were higher for Friday’s meeting between the two teams because they entered the matchup with identical 1-1 records in the second-annual NBA Cup.

The game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Fans looking to watch this NBA game can do so for free by using FuboTV and DirecTV Stream, which both offer a free trial or with SlingTV, which doesn’t offer a free trial but has promotional offers available.

Dallas followed up that performance with a 131-91 demolition over the New Orleans Pelicans. If you overlook this Mavericks team, you do so at your peril. The underlying metrics suggest they’re still very much a legitimate contender that can challenge and come out of the West. Denver rebounded from a 0-2 start to win seven of its next eight games.