SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs will have a chance at building dominance at home when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, in the first meeting between the Interstate 35 rivals this season.
The Mavericks come to town after losing to the Utah Jazz on Sunday night 113-104.
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The Mavericks' Devin Harris and Dirk Nowitzki both missed the game with injuries. Harris is nursing a hamstring and Nowitzki is coming off ankle surgery.
The Spurs beat the Mavericks three out of four times last season.
San Antonio sports a 3-2 record in the young season following a win over the the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night 110-106, the Spurs' second victory over Los Angeles in less than a week.
"I think were doing a great job of coming along," said Spurs guard Bryn Forbes. "I think we are getting better and better, but we still have a long way to go."
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out eight assists in the victory.
"It makes the game so much easier, he's so talented, it makes it easier for everyone around him," Forbes said of DeRozan's play. "I've been impressed. I didn't know he was (so good), especially with the passing."
After the Spurs beat the Lakers in overtime in their first meeting, they had a letdown back at home getting blown out of the gym Wednesday night by the Indiana Pacers 116-96. San Antonio was down 29 points at one point during the loss.
Losing after a big win is not a habit the Spurs want to develop.
"We don't want to be one of those teams obviously that has a big win, then lose a couple, then has another big win, that's not us," said Spurs forward Rudy Gay.
Tip off is at 7:30 p.m. from the AT&T Center.