Preview: Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs: Player props, injury report and prediction | NBA

San Antonio Spurs, last season's NBA Finals runners-up and winners of five games in a row, host Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center in a Southwest Division meeting early on Thursday UK time.

The Spurs won the first meeting 122-106 on 24 October, when the Mavericks were without Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, and that result extended a run of six straight wins over Dallas, the second of four meetings on the NBA schedule.

What is the form like for the Spurs and Mavericks?

Form Guide

Dallas Mavericks

4-3 · 9th in the West

Last 5 (2026-27 regular season)

LWWWL

112.3

PPG

112.3

Opp PPG

112.6

Off. rating

112.4

Def. rating

San Antonio Spurs

5-2 · 6th in the West

Last 5 (2026-27 regular season)

WWWWW

117.6

PPG

108.3

Opp PPG

115.6

Off. rating

106.8

Def. rating

The Spurs opened with defeats to Oklahoma City and Houston and have since won five in a row, which includes a 130-103 home win over Sacramento and a 121-111 win over Minnesota.

Dylan Harper had 17 points and eight assists against Utah on Monday, Victor Wembanyama added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, and San Antonio led by as many as 26.

The three-guard starting group around Wembanyama was a talking point before the season, and the early evidence is encouraging, with De'Aaron Fox shooting 58.2% from the field and Stephon Castle making 2.4 threes a game.

Dallas have been less steady, winning three in a row before a 100-115 home loss to a Sacramento side that had lost its first six games, and the two teams sit ninth and sixth in the Western Conference standings.

That defeat came without Irving, who rested his left knee as part of the managed minutes he has played since returning from a torn ACL, and Max Christie left in the third quarter with a hip injury.

The Spurs out-rebound Dallas 46.7 to 42.4 per game and turn the ball over 13.4 times to the Mavericks' 17.0, which goes a long way towards explaining why they are such heavy favourites.

That gap was obvious on 24 October, when Dallas gave the ball away 21 times to San Antonio's 12 and were outscored 30-17 in the fourth quarter after leading 85-84 in the third.

Dallas's best route to staying close is shooting, as they make 48.3% of their field goals to the Spurs' 46.5%, a mark helped by Irving shooting 52.7% in his five appearances.

Mavericks vs. Spurs team news and rotations

Irving and Christie are the two game-time decisions for Dallas, with Irving listed for left knee injury management and Christie for a hip problem.

Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic, Dereck Lively II and Sergio De Larrea are all out, which removes Lively as the alternative center to Daniel Gafford and takes De Larrea, who scored 21 against the Spurs in the first meeting, out of the guard rotation.

If Irving and Christie both sit, the depth chart points to Marcus Sasser at point guard and Zaccharie Risacher on the wing, with Flagg, P.J. Washington and Gafford the other usual starters.

Walter Clayton Jr. has made 57.1% of his threes in six appearances, which gives Dallas a spacing option off the bench if the starting guards are limited.

San Antonio have only Tobias Harris and Jayden Quaintance listed as out, so a starting five of Fox, Castle, Harper, Devin Vassell and Wembanyama stays intact, with Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson the main bench scorers.

Mavericks vs. Spurs, the matchups that could decide it

Key Matchups

Rim protection and the interior

Victor Wembanyama

SAS

VS

Daniel Gafford

DAL

25.7

Wemby PPG

10.7

Wemby RPG

10.1

Gafford PPG

75.0%

Gafford FG%

Gafford finishes almost everything at the rim, which makes the lob and put-back exchange with Wembanyama the main contest inside.

Dallas's main creator against San Antonio's guards

Cooper Flagg

DAL

VS

Stephon Castle

SAS

25.2

Flagg PPG

6.5

Flagg APG

14.7

Castle PPG

5.0

Castle APG

Flagg missed the first meeting, so this is his opening look of the season at San Antonio's guards.

Wembanyama had 23 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in the first meeting, and Gafford, who is shooting a league-best 75.0% from the field, is the main rim presence Dallas has left with Lively out.

Flagg missed the first meeting with a shoulder sprain, so this is his first look this season at the Spurs, and Dallas need him to create for others against a guard group that has already made them turn it over 21 times.

Mavericks vs. Spurs player props to consider

Player Props to Watch

Victor Wembanyama

SAS

PointsOver 24.5

25.7

Season avg

31.2

Last 5 (23-31 Oct)

7

GP

He carries the Spurs' scoring and meets a Dallas interior without Dereck Lively II.

Cooper Flagg

DAL

PointsOver 23.5

25.2

Season avg

26.3

Last 5

6

GP

Dallas's offence runs through him whenever Irving or Christie is missing, and his minutes stay heavy.

Dylan Harper

SAS

AssistsOver 4.5

5.3

Season avg

4.8

Last 5 (23-31 Oct)

7

GP

Harper creates for the Spurs' bigs and had eight assists in the most recent game.

The three props lean on the players who drive each offence, with Wembanyama and Harper working through the Spurs' half-court sets and Flagg carrying the creation burden for Dallas.

Harper's assist line is the quieter call of the three, but Dallas's turnover problems feed the kind of transition chances that suit a creator of his size and pace.

How have the Mavericks and Spurs fared head-to-head?

San Antonio won all four meetings in 2025-26, each by at least 12 points, and the 24 October result made it six straight wins over Dallas.

The pick of those was the opening-night 125-92 win in Dallas, a margin of 33, and the Spurs also scored 138 and 139 in their two games in San Antonio last season.

Dallas have lost all three visits to San Antonio since beating the Spurs 133-129 there on 10 March 2025.

Two further meetings follow, in Dallas on 9 February and in San Antonio on 19 March.

Mavericks vs. Spurs tips and score prediction

The Spurs have the better defence, the cleaner ball security and the home floor, and the first meeting showed how wide the gap becomes when Dallas cannot hold on to the ball.

The counter-case is an Irving return, since Dallas beat a short-handed Oklahoma City side 120-96 with him, but a controlled Spurs win remains the likelier outcome.