Mavericks at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs look to continue their recent home dominance of the Dallas Mavericks when the teams square off in a crucial Southwest Division clash on Friday. The Spurs have downed the Mavericks eight straight times at the AT&T Center and hope to pull 1 1/2 games ahead of Dallas in the race for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio has won nine of its last 10 home games, including seven by double digits, and is coming off a 130-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Dallas looks to beat the Spurs for the second time in three nights following a 101-94 win over its in-state rival on Tuesday, which snapped a mini two-game slide. The Mavericks have lost five of their last six games on the road, with four of the defeats coming by 15 points or more, and hope to turn their fortunes around by securing a win in San Antonio for the first time since Nov. 26, 2010. Dallas has won the last two meetings after losing the previous 10 games in the series.
TV: 8:30 p.m. EST, FSN Southwest
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (45-27): Monta Ellis matched a career high with 38 points on 16-of-27 shooting in the win over San Antonio and is averaging 34 points in three games against the defending NBA champions this season. "I was just taking what the defense was giving me," Ellis told reporters. "It was a total team effort and everybody was juiced up." Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points and 13 boards to become the 37th player in league history to eclipse the 10,000-rebound mark.
ABOUT THE SPURS (45-26): Tony Parker recorded 21 points, six rebounds and six assists while Tim Duncan added 16 points and six boards as all five of San Antonio's starters shot 50 percent or better from the floor against the Thunder. "We played the way we have to play to win basketball games," coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "When we play the way we need to play or hope to play, we're a pretty good basketball team." Boris Diaw led the reserves with 19 points as the Spurs' bench players contributed 60 points on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The last three meetings have been decided by a combined 14 points.
2. The Spurs are 18-3 in their last 21 home games.
3. The Mavericks have been held to less than 90 points in four of their last five road defeats.