The San Antonio Spurs host the Dallas Mavericks at the Frost Bank Center on Friday, April 10, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The Spurs are 61-19 and second in the West with a 31-7 home record, while the Mavericks are 25-55 and 13th in the West with a 10-30 road record.
The Spurs are coming off a 112-101 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, while the Mavericks are coming off a close 112-107 loss against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday as well. This is the fourth and final encounter of the season between these divisional rivals, with the Spurs holding a 2-1 advantage. San Antonio picked up a 138-125 win in their last clash on February 7, 2026.
Victor Wembanyama has been leading the Spurs as an MVP candidate, averaging 24.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists this season. While it seems the MVP race might be over for the French center, he’s widely expected to win Defensive Player of the Year. His co-star De’Aaron Fox is having a strong first full season with the franchise, averaging 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.
The Mavericks are hoping that No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg can seal Rookie of the Year amid a closely contested race. He is averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals, and will be looking to make an impact against the Spurs to make his case stronger. Flagg will be joined in the frontcourt by center Daniel Gafford, who’s averaging 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks this season.
The Spurs are locked into the No. 2 seed in the West and have already crossed the 60-win mark, so it’s hard to imagine them taking any extra risks that might affect their health in the Playoffs. Nonetheless, they’ll be looking to beat their divisional rivals in the first season they’ve finished above them in the standings since 2019.
Injury Report
Spurs
Victor Wembanyama: Questionable (ribs)
Stephon Castle: Questionable (foot)
Mavericks
Cooper Flagg: Probable (wrist)
Brandon Williams: Doubtful (illness)
Naji Marshall: Doubtful (hip)
P.J. Washington: Doubtful (elbow)
Kyrie Irving: Out (knee)
Dereck Lively II: Out (foot)
Why The Spurs Have The Advantage
The Spurs have advantages across the board against the Mavericks. They’ve been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since January, going 32-6 over their last 38 games. This has been done by consistent excellence on both ends of the court, which extends beyond the presence of Victor Wembanyama. They’re the third-highest scoring team in the NBA (119.6 PPG) and commit the fourth-fewest turnovers (12.7 TOPG). They rank sixth in field goal percentage (48.3 FG%) while having a creative offense that generates the ninth-most assists in the NBA (28.1 APG).
Defensively, the Spurs have a 110.0 rating on the season. They hold opponents to 111.2 points per game (sixth-best) and 45.0 FG% (fourth-best) this season. In addition, the Mavericks have one of the worst offenses this season, scoring the sixth-fewest points per game in the NBA with 113.6 PPG while having the third-worst offensive rating (109.9) in the NBA. They also generate a few assists (25.1 APG), so the Spurs defense should have no problem containing these Mavericks.
San Antonio went 9-1 in their last 10 games and looked like arguably the most dominant team in the NBA over this stretch. They had a 124.4 offensive rating and 107.8 defensive rating over this stretch, with their nine wins all coming with double-digit margins. Their only loss was a two-point OT thriller against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, so it’s clear to see the Spurs are still fighting for every win regardless of how it impacts their position in the standings. With the standings locked for them now, they might play a freer and more dangerous style of ball in this game against a much weaker opponent.
The Spurs might not have a winning incentive and could rest Wembanyama and Castle but still have a sizeable edge over the Mavericks. The draft lottery situation at the end of the West is still tight, with the Mavericks tied for the 13th seed with the Memphis Grizzlies, with the New Orleans Pelicans half a game ahead as the No. 11 seed. The Mavericks have a very active incentive to lose this game and secure a strong position for the lottery, as the 2026 first-round pick is the last one Dallas controls until the end of the decade.
Why The Mavericks Have The Advantage
The Mavericks can’t really rely on clear advantages against the Spurs, but must try to maximize doing what they do best. They’ve been a formidable defensive unit all season, with a 115.2 defensive rating while restricting opponents to 35.1% three-point shooting against them. The Spurs are an average outside-shooting unit (35.9 3P%, 13th in the NBA), so the Mavericks could find success in stifling their offense from the outside.
Offensively, they’ll be hopeful Wembanyama is ruled out because they rely on the paint heavily to generate points. The Mavericks are fifth in the NBA when it comes to points in the paint with 52.9 per game. This constitutes 47.0% of all Mavericks points this season, so finding advantages inside will be key. Whether they do it through Flagg driving to the rim or through Gafford catching lobs is up to them, but it’s a clear strength of theirs that they need to exploit to even have a chance against the Spurs.
The Mavericks have an incentive to lose, but Cooper Flagg doesn’t. The franchise cornerstone is averaging 25.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists over the last 12 games, showing that he’s capable of All-Star level production already. His losing season has cost him votes in Rookie of the Year compared to Kon Knueppel, so leading the hapless Mavericks to an upset win over the Spurs when everyone counted them out can’t be ruled out.
X-Factors
Second-year guard Stephon Castle is listed on the injury report, but his participation might make the Spurs unbeatable in this clash. He is averaging 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in a breakout season, proving he can be a core guard on the team for years to come around Wembanyama. He’s also their best point-of-attack defender, taking on hard matchups and finding ways to stifle opponents. He’s also their secondary playmaker, so Castle wears too many hats on the court to be a peripheral player.
Dylan Harper was the second pick behind Flagg in the 2025 NBA Draft, but he isn’t in Rookie of the Year contention. Harper has averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists off the bench in a productive season with the Spurs, where his flashes of potential have been hard to ignore. If Castle winds up missing the game, Harper could start in the backcourt alongside Fox and be expected to have an all-around impact on the court. Harper should be one to watch as the Spurs potentially start resting core players to give youngsters like Harper more minutes.
Klay Thompson has had to accept disappointment on the Mavericks, with this marking his second season outside the NBA Playoffs. While he’s had to accept losing, Thompson has averaged 11.7 points on 38.2% from three this season. He’s trying to have a strong end to the season and could be a major threat, because a hot shooting night from Thompson could easily catch the Spurs off guard.
Max Christie has been a decent guard for the Mavericks this season, albeit a little underwhelming. He’s averaging 12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists this season, shooting 40.0% from three. He could have a larger impact on the court if he shot with more volume and played with greater consistency, but on nights when he’s shooting well, he’s hard to stop. If Christie catches fire, the Spurs might not have any avenues left to stifle the Mavericks’ offense.
Prediction
Even if the Spurs were to suddenly rule out most of their core players for this game, we’d pick them to win. The reward for losing is way too high for Dallas right now, as a win could mean the difference between the sixth-best odds for the No. 1 pick and the eighth-best odds. San Antonio is a well-oiled machine from top to bottom, and they’ll be unlikely to let this win slip unless Flagg wills Dallas to a win propelled by another historic night.
Prediction: Spurs 118, Mavericks 102
