DALLAS -- Those four days off didn't do the Dallas Mavericks a whole lot of good.
Even with coach Gregg Popovich (ill) and superstar Tim Duncan (knee) back in San Antonio, the Spurs beat the Mavs for the third time in as many games this season.
Friday's 113-107 victory by the Spurs over the Mavs at American Airlines Center is just another example of how far the Mavs are from being an elite team.
The Mavs (18-25) hadn't played since winning at Orlando this past Sunday. The four days without a game were supposed to have helped rejuvenate a Dallas squad that entered Friday's game winners in five of their previous six games while playing their best basketball of the season.
But the Spurs (35-11), who had already owned 38- and 25-point victories over the Mavs this season, didn't seem fazed by much which Dallas attempted to do on Friday.
In other words, no Popovich, no problem. No Duncan, no problem.
A 24-8 Spurs run to start the third period staked the Spurs to a 77-51 lead.
Rodrigue Beaubois led the Mavs with 19 points, Vince Carter tallied 17, Dirk Nowitzki scored 15, OJ Mayo finished with 14 points and Darren Collison picked up 13 points.
Tony Parker paced the Spurs with 23 points, DeJuan Blair had 22, Gary Neal scored 18, and Tiago Splitter collected 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
-- Dwain Price
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