Preview: Spurs (12-8) at Mavericks (12-8)

Earl K. Sneed previews the Dallas Mavericks' Sunday evening matchup with the San Antonio Spurs as the two teams battle at the top of the Southwest Division.

DALLAS — A Southwest Division showdown makes its way to the American Airlines Center Sunday for a matinee matchup of epic proportions.

After missing four games while reconditioning a sore right knee, the Dallas Mavericks are expected to welcome back leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki Sunday evening when the rival San Antonio Spurs invade Big D for the second matchup of a three-game season series. But even if Nowitzki does return, the Mavs could still be shorthanded with the starting backcourt of Jason Kidd and Delonte West both battling minor injuries.

Nowitzki was forced to watch in street clothes while his team went 3-1 without him. But with the expected four-game hiatus ending and the Spurs in town, the Mavericks (12-8) hope to have their NBA Finals MVP back in the lineup in the second matchup against the divisional foe.

“We were always shooting for Sunday,” Nowitzki explained Thursday, “but we’ll just take it day by day, see how these next few days of training go and keep pushing myself twice a day. But that’s where my head is, it’s hopefully Sunday, and we’ll go from there.”

Meanwhile, the Mavs will monitor the health of Kidd and West before taking the court Sunday evening. West and his strained right hamstring sat out the team’s 116-101 victory over Utah Friday night while Kidd played just over two minutes before exiting the game with a right calf strain. The two are expected to be game-time decisions Sunday.

Fortunately for the Mavs, they did get swingman Vince Carter back in the lineup after missing five games with a sprained left foot that was injured on the last play of a 73-70 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 16. Carter scored 11 points off the bench in his return Friday night, showing no signs of rust when he entered the game. But with Nowitzki, West and Kidd all sidelined, the Mavs leaned on third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois and newcomer Lamar Odom to bounce back from Wednesday night’s 105-90 loss to Minnesota.

Behind Beaubois’ season-high numbers of 22 points, seven assists and career-best three blocked shots, the Mavericks more than made up for the loss of Kidd and West at the point position.

“I thought he played the point position as well as he’s ever played it,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of the young lead guard in Kidd’s stead, “in terms of running the team, making reads. His defense was terrific, and yet he didn’t foul. He didn’t have any bad fouls. He really had a good feel for where to put everybody on the court. He made plays. He made important plays time and time again.”

At the same time, Odom was filling Nowitzki’s larger-than-life void, scoring a season-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

“I didn’t expect to play bad 66 games in a row,” Odom joked after a 2-for-14 showing two nights prior. “[Friday night], the shots went in. I took open shots. It could have happen last game like that, but it just missed. … It’s all about winning at the end of the day. That’s all that really matters.”

“[Odom] is doing what we’re asking him to do; just keep playing basketball, keep staying aggressive. I thought his all-around game was tremendous. He defended, he made plays on offense and he made some really high basketball-IQ plays. … He was terrific, and we needed every single guy,” Carlisle added.

Sunday, with the statuses of Nowitzki, West and Kidd all still unclear, the Mavs may need more from Beaubois and Odom if they’re going to avenge a 93-71 road loss to the Spurs on Jan. 5, when the defending champions surrendered 16 made 3-pointers to their in-state rivals.

Despite claiming a 52-42 rebounding advantage in the loss, the Mavs couldn’t overcome the Spurs’ 16-for-30 shooting from 3-point range compared to their own 1-of-19 from deep. And although both teams struggled to connect from anywhere else on the court, San Antonio (12-8) still managed to outshoot Dallas that night from the field, 39.5 percent to 35.1 percent.

“You’ve got to give them credit. They throw in 16 threes, that’s shooting the heck out of it,” Carlisle said. “Some of that is obviously we made some mistakes, but they put us in those positions. So, you’ve got to give them credit.”

“When they’re making shots and we’re not, it’s gonna be a tough and long ball game for us,” reserve guard Jason Terry added. “Again, we’re a team that prides ourselves on getting stops defensively and then making them pay on the offensive end. That didn’t happen.”

Like the Spurs, the Mavericks were playing their fourth game in six nights. But now the Mavs hope the roles are reverse as they conclude a four-game homestand with the two teams tied atop the division standings, especially with the San Antonio squad just 2-7 on the road this year and entering Dallas’ home gym for the first time since a championship banner was raised to the rafters.

“It’s rivalry time,” Terry said. “It’s a big brother versus little brother scenario, but now we have one ring to go up against their four. So, it’s going to be a fun ball game.”

“San Antonio is our rivalry,” forward Shawn Marion added, “so we know it’s gonna be exciting and it’s gonna be pumped up in here.”

The Mavericks return to action in the final matchup of a four-game homestand Sunday evening when they host the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lead the season series 1-0 after the Mavs’ 93-71 road loss on Jan. 5. The Spurs-Mavericks game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on ESPN at 5:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.