MAVERICKS (4-3) at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (2-5)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: AT&T Center, San American Airlines Center, Dallas.
TV: Bally Sports Southwest.
Radio: The Eagle 97.1 FM; Univision 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: This will be the second of three meetings between these teams in a span of 16 days. The Mavericks won the first one 104-99 on Thursday. They were behind 23-3 in that game before rallying to win . . . The Alamo City has been a bit friendlier to the Mavericks lately. After a terrible stretch when they almost never won at San Antonio, they have taken two of the last three meetings there . . . They are coming off a 125-110 loss to Miami on Tuesday night, when they surrendered 46 points in the second quarter to fall behind 70-62 at halftime. They never got closer than six in the second half . . . Luka Dončić has led the Mavericks in scoring in all seven games and had a season-best 33 on Tuesday, although he shot just 10-of-24 from the field . . . They have been without Kristaps Porzingis (lower back) for the past four games and it remains unclear if he’ll be available Wednesday. After this game, they have two off days before returning home against Boston on Saturday. The Mavericks also will be without Maxi Kleber (oblique muscle strain) and possibly Trey Burke (health and safety protocols) . . . Jalen Brunson got his first start of the season against the Heat and responded with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting. However, without Brunson, the Mavericks’ bench was weakened severely and was outscored 46-21 by the Heat reserves.
About the Spurs: Since they were in Dallas last week, they won at Milwaukee and were blown out 131-118 at Indiana. Against the Pacers, 10 Spurs scored at least nine points, but their defense was deplorable, allowing Indiana to shoot 57.1 percent . . . Against the Bucks, the Spurs limited Milwaukee to 40.4 percent shooting and 25.6 percent from 3-point range . . . Dejounte Murray is off to a eye-catching start this season, averaging 17.6 points, 8.4 assists and 7.6 rebounds through seven games. He had a massive triple double last week against the Los Angeles Lakers with 21 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds . . . Big man Zach Collins is out until at least Christmas with an ankle injury, and sharpshooter Doug McDermott missed Monday’s game with a right knee problem . . . Defense has been a major issue so far as opponents are hitting 48 percent of their shots, next-to-worst in the NBA . . . Jakob Poetl has become a serviceable big man since arriving in San Antonio while averaging 13.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, adding 1.1 blocks . . . The game is rated as a pick-‘em by most Las Vegas oddsmakers.
Twitter: @ESefko
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