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Mavs face Spurs in Texas tussle

Mar 2, 2014 - 2:26 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - One of the NBA's best rivalries over the last 10 years takes center stage Sunday night when Texas pride is on the line as the Dallas Mavericks visit the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs come into the matchup the winners of two straight and five of their last six. They returned from a 6-3 Rodeo road trip with back-to-back home victories over Eastern Conference foes.

On Wednesday, San Antonio dispatched the Detroit Pistons by 10, then two nights later, the Spurs won by 10 again, this time against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Tim Duncan scored 17 points with 16 rebounds, guiding the San Antonio Spurs to a 92-82 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday.

Manu Ginobili scored 15 points, while Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills each scored 14 in San Antonio's seventh straight win over Charlotte. Kawhi Leonard netted 12 points in the victory.

San Antonio has won three in a row at home and owns a 17-2 record all-time against Charlotte. With the win, the Spurs clinched their 17th consecutive winning season.

The Bobcats held a 25-14 first-quarter lead, which was a season-low for the first quarter for the Spurs. The contest was tied at 80-80 with three minutes to go, but San Antonio made plays down the stretch.

"It's a 48-minute game," said Duncan. "Luckily we got it to turn and we got some shots to go down. That's what it's all about. We stuck with it."

Tony Parker has been out of action for two weeks since the All-Star game with a myriad of injuries, but he will be a game-time decision for Sunday night.

The Mavericks had a four-game winning streak halted on Friday night when the red-hot Chicago Bulls marched into Big D and left with a 100-91 victory.

Monta Ellis led Dallas with 20 points, while Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter contributed 15 points apiece in the setback, which was the Mavericks second at home in their last three.

Jose Calderon scored 13 points, while Shawn Marion managed 11. Samuel Dalembert pulled down 10 boards.

The Mavericks managed only two field goals in the final five minutes of the game.

"We were in front most of the first half and we let them climb back into it with grit, and guts, and rebounding," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said. "Down the stretch we had some good opportunities and made some mistakes, too."

The Mavs allowed the Bulls to shoot 50.7 percent from the field, but they did force 21 Chicago turnovers, which led to 21 points.

The Spurs have owned this series over the last few years, including two wins this season. San Antonio has seven straight victories over the Mavericks and six in a row as the host.