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San Antonio (40-19) at Dallas (36-24)
A blowout loss against a San Antonio team missing Tim Duncan last week was just one example of the Dallas Mavericks’ recent road struggles, but at home they’ve looked unbeatable of late.
With Duncan back as the Spurs pay a visit, though, Dallas can’t be feeling particularly confident.
San Antonio has dominated the Mavericks lately with or without Duncan, and the two-time league MVP will be on the floor Wednesday night when his Spurs look for their sixth win in the last seven meetings against Dallas.
The Mavericks (36-24) have lost 10 of 14 on the road, and they haven’t scored more than 87 in dropping their last four away from home.
One of those losses came Feb. 24 in San Antonio, where Duncan sat out his first of three games with a sore knee and right quad injury. His absence didn’t make a difference, though, as the Spurs (40-19)—already without Manu Ginobili — won 93-76 behind 37 points and 12 assists from Tony Parker.
“I can only shutter to think what would happen had (Duncan and Ginobili) played,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili have all been on the floor only three times in the past six games against Dallas, but that hasn’t kept the Spurs from dominating the series. San Antonio has won five of those meetings - two without Duncan - and both road games, including a thrilling 133-126 double-overtime victory Dec. 9.
Duncan returned Sunday night in Portland, but the Spurs looked lost, falling behind by 27 at halftime en route to a 102-84 defeat. They looked much better a night later at Staples Center, though, getting 26 points and 10 assists from Parker and 18 points and 12 rebounds from Duncan, who sat out the fourth quarter of a 106-78 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“We wanted to bounce back after a poor performance against Portland and bring some energy and shoot better,” Parker said. “Tonight we moved the ball pretty well and shot the ball well.”
The Mavericks have shot the ball extremely well at home over the past six weeks, making 49.5 percent from the field. They’ve averaged 111.4 points while going 10-1 in that stretch, winning by an average of 10.7 points.
But they’ve lost by an average of 9.2 points during their 4-10 road stretch since the start of 2009, and the last four games have been especially ugly. Dallas has shot 39.1 percent - 28.0 from 3-point range - while losing by 15.3 points per game.
The latest road loss came Monday in Oklahoma City to a Thunder team that was missing Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Down four at halftime, the Mavericks fell behind by 20 after three quarters and lost 96-87.
“I just thought that the first three quarters were just a pitiful display for a team that has aspirations to be in the playoffs and try to move up in the standings,” Carlisle said. “We’ve seen this before, too many times.”
Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points Monday and is averaging 31.0 over his last three games, but he may need to do more against the Spurs. Josh Howard didn’t return after halftime of the loss to the Thunder after aggravating his left ankle, which caused him to miss 11 games earlier this season.
Howard’s status for Wednesday is unclear, but Dallas will have Jason Terry, who’s been back two games after missing eight with a fractured finger.
Terry averaged 24.0 points in the Mavericks’ first two games against the Spurs this season.
A blowout loss against a San Antonio team missing Tim Duncan last week was just one example of the Dallas Mavericks’ recent road struggles, but at home they’ve looked unbeatable of late.
With Duncan back as the Spurs pay a visit, though, Dallas can’t be feeling particularly confident.
San Antonio has dominated the Mavericks lately with or without Duncan, and the two-time league MVP will be on the floor Wednesday night when his Spurs look for their sixth win in the last seven meetings against Dallas.
The Mavericks (36-24) have lost 10 of 14 on the road, and they haven’t scored more than 87 in dropping their last four away from home.
One of those losses came Feb. 24 in San Antonio, where Duncan sat out his first of three games with a sore knee and right quad injury. His absence didn’t make a difference, though, as the Spurs (40-19)—already without Manu Ginobili — won 93-76 behind 37 points and 12 assists from Tony Parker.
“I can only shutter to think what would happen had (Duncan and Ginobili) played,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili have all been on the floor only three times in the past six games against Dallas, but that hasn’t kept the Spurs from dominating the series. San Antonio has won five of those meetings - two without Duncan - and both road games, including a thrilling 133-126 double-overtime victory Dec. 9.
Duncan returned Sunday night in Portland, but the Spurs looked lost, falling behind by 27 at halftime en route to a 102-84 defeat. They looked much better a night later at Staples Center, though, getting 26 points and 10 assists from Parker and 18 points and 12 rebounds from Duncan, who sat out the fourth quarter of a 106-78 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“We wanted to bounce back after a poor performance against Portland and bring some energy and shoot better,” Parker said. “Tonight we moved the ball pretty well and shot the ball well.”
The Mavericks have shot the ball extremely well at home over the past six weeks, making 49.5 percent from the field. They’ve averaged 111.4 points while going 10-1 in that stretch, winning by an average of 10.7 points.
But they’ve lost by an average of 9.2 points during their 4-10 road stretch since the start of 2009, and the last four games have been especially ugly. Dallas has shot 39.1 percent - 28.0 from 3-point range - while losing by 15.3 points per game.
The latest road loss came Monday in Oklahoma City to a Thunder team that was missing Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Down four at halftime, the Mavericks fell behind by 20 after three quarters and lost 96-87.
“I just thought that the first three quarters were just a pitiful display for a team that has aspirations to be in the playoffs and try to move up in the standings,” Carlisle said. “We’ve seen this before, too many times.”
Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points Monday and is averaging 31.0 over his last three games, but he may need to do more against the Spurs. Josh Howard didn’t return after halftime of the loss to the Thunder after aggravating his left ankle, which caused him to miss 11 games earlier this season.
Howard’s status for Wednesday is unclear, but Dallas will have Jason Terry, who’s been back two games after missing eight with a fractured finger.
Terry averaged 24.0 points in the Mavericks’ first two games against the Spurs this season.
