Spurs at Mavericks
THE STORY: The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs meet for the third time this season. Both teams notched home victories in the first two contests and will wrap up the regular-season series in San Antonio on March 23. The Spurs have won three consecutive contests after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. The Mavericks won the first two games of a three-game homestand by beating the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBATV, Fox Sports Southwest
ABOUT THE SPURS (29-13): Guard Danny Green was a surprise star in San Antonio’s victory over Oklahoma City. Green tallied 21 points and drained five 3-point baskets to go with five steals. Green started because veteran Manu Ginobili (hip) was scratched and he was up to the challenge. Ginobili is expected to play against Dallas but Green will surely be counted on after his third 20-point outing of the season. Tim Duncan also had a mammoth contest with 16 points, a season-best 19 rebounds and five blocked shots.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (25-20): Dallas lost eight of 10 games prior to the back-to-back victories over two of the worst teams in the league. The schedule gets tougher now with two games against the Spurs in less than a week and games with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers in between. The Mavericks have the sixth-best record in the tightly jammed Western Conference but aren’t playing like a team ready to make a strong push. “We just need to get everybody healthy and we have a veteran team again like last year,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “Our goal is to make a push here in the last 21 games and get into the playoffs.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Dallas notched a 101-100 overtime victory on Jan. 29 to snap a four-game losing skid against San Antonio.
2. Spurs forward Matt Bonner had 17 points and made five 3-pointers when San Antonio routed Dallas 93-71 on Jan. 5.
3. Mavericks center Brendan Haywood sprained his right knee against Charlotte and will miss at least five games.