Mavs-Spurs preview: In the NBA, a lot can change in a week

In the span of barely a week, the Mavericks have gone from under .500 to a top-five seed in the Western Conference.

And what’s really amazing is Luka Dončić is back on the MVP radar.

Should he ever have been off it?

That’s another story. But for now, most analysts have Dončić third in the MVP running – behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.

It’s hard to argue with those two. Their teams have been better to date and that’s the overriding factor when numbers are similar, which they are for all three players.

Of course, neither of the other two have 60-21-10. That feather in Luka’s cap will be something he can trot out when he needs to somewhere down the line.

But they don’t give out any MVP honors at the 36-game mark. Much work has to be done, starting with this two-game trip that begins New Year’s Eve at San Antonio. (NOTE EARLY START: 6 p.m.)

And Luka is scheduled to play against the Spurs as he was upgraded from questionable to probable on Friday, despite left ankle soreness.

The Spurs, who started hot this season, have cooled down considerably and the Mavericks simply must pad their unimpressive 5-11 road record. After Saturday, they go to Houston on Monday for their third meeting with the Rockets in 11 days.

To state the obvious, sweeping this two-game trip is vital.

Here’s a few other need-to-know nuggets leading up to the San Antonio game.

• Dončić now has 54 triple doubles after his huge showing Thursday against Houston. During the five-game winning streak they are riding, he has averaged 40.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10.4 assists. He joins Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to have 200-plus points, 50-plus rebounds and 50-plus assists in any consecutive five-game span.
• The triple-double leader board for this season: Luka with eight, Nikola Jokic with seven, Ja Morant with three.
• Spencer Dinwiddie has been on a nice roll of late. He’s hit 15-of-35 three-pointers (42.9 percent) over the last five games.
• The Spurs are led by Keldon Johnson at 21.2 points per game. Devin Vassell (knee) missed Thursday’s game against New York. He’s averaging 19.6 points.
• Strange for a Gregg Popovich-coached team, but the Spurs are dead last in points allowed (120.3 per game) and overall defensive rating.
• This is the eighth time the Mavericks have played on New Year’s Eve. Everyone of the games has been on the road. They are 4-3 in the previous seven.
• It will be the first of four meetings with the Spurs this season. The Mavericks swept the four meetings last season.
• DALLAS MAVERICKS (20-16) at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (12-23)
• When: 6 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio.
• TV: Bally’s Sports Southwest.
• Radio:1 FM, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

Twitter: @ESefko