[MaVs 41 BaLler]

A battle for playoff positioning will take place in the Big Easy Sunday afternoon, when the New Orleans Hornets welcome the Dallas Mavericks to town in a battle between Southwest Division foes.

The winner of Sunday's game will take over sole possession of the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Dallas is riding some momentum, having won three straight and five of its last six games, including a 100-92 victory over the Hornets on Friday in the opener of a home-and-home set at American Airlines Center.

Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points apiece, while Howard added 11 rebounds for the Mavs, who completed a perfect three-game homestand. Jason Terry scored 18 points and Erick Dampier added 12 in the win. Jason Kidd chipped in 15 assists to go with three points for the Mavericks.

Dallas, which is 18-22 as the guest, will return home after today's contest in New Orleans for two games against Minnesota and Houston.

The Hornets have been struggling and are riding a two-game losing streak. In the recent setback at Dallas, Chris Paul poured in 42 points, grabbed nine boards and handed out seven assists for New Orleans, which lost for the fourth time in five tries.

David West added 20 points and 14 rebounds in defeat. The Hornets are 27-13 as the host this season and will visit the Rockets and Spurs after Sunday's home tilt with the Mavericks.

New Orleans is 2-1 against Dallas this season, but has lost 24 of the previous 28 matchups between the teams. The Hornets have won the last three as the host in this series.

Go Mavs