San Antonio @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 16, 2019 ) San Antonio 105, Dallas 101

The San Antonio Spurs are trying to stay out of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference and avoid a potential first-round date with the Golden State Warriors and are surging with wins in five straight games. The Spurs will try to make it six in a row when they visit the in-state rival Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

San Antonio ripped through four playoff contenders over its last five games, including a 121-114 home victory over the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. The Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz are all locked in a battle for the final three playoff spots in the West while pulling away from the ninth-place Sacramento Kings, and the three are just 2 1/2 games behind fourth-place Oklahoma City entering play on Monday. The Mavericks aren't concerning themselves with the postseason race but are looking for effort from the young team despite its record, and they nearly pulled off a win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday before falling 94-93. "The compete level was tremendous - very impressive," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after his club's fifth straight loss. "You hold (Houston) to 94 and you hold (James) Harden to 20 points, you really busted your butt out there, so I'm really proud of them."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE SPURS (38-29): San Antonio's five-game winning streak is being led by All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who collected 29 points and 15 rebounds on Sunday and is averaging 26.8 points on 55.6 percent shooting and 9.6 boards over the last five contests. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is averaging 20.2 points on 52.4 percent shooting during the winning streak and handed out a team-high six assists on Sunday. The reserve backcourt duo of Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli combined to go 8-of-15 from beyond the arc against the Bucks and scored 16 points apiece.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (27-39): Star rookie Luka Doncic is questionable after suffering a left knee strain in the fourth quarter on Sunday but returned in time for the last play, where he was swarmed by Houston defenders and passed the ball to fellow rookie Jalen Brunson. "Luka was being triple-teamed, so I got the ball and looked at the clock and it was one second (remaining) and I just tried to get it up there. (Rockets point guard Chris Paul, who blocked the shot attempt) just made a great play." Doncic and Brunson are the backcourt of the future for Dallas and combined for 37 points, 22 rebounds and 13 assists on Sunday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Mavericks SG Tim Hardaway Jr. is 8-of-35 from 3-point range over the last five games.

2. The Spurs are 26-7 at home and 12-22 on the road.

3. San Antonio, which hosts Dallas in the regular-season finale, took the first two meetings by an average of 4.5 points.

PREDICTION: Spurs 103, Mavericks 98