DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 24: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs plays defense during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on October 24, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images Matt Martinez · SB Nation Wed, November 4, 2026 at 1:37 AM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dallas Mavericks (4-3) no doubt have a bad taste in their mouths after Monday's 115-100 loss to the bottom-dwelling Sacramento Kings . And despite the San Antonio Spurs' own stumbling start to the 2026-27 season, a trip to the Frost Bank Center may not be the easiest palate cleanser to swallow.
After back-to-back losses to start the year, San Antonio (5-2) has found its stride in five straight wins as all-universe life form Victor Wembanyama has started to heat up, scoring 36 and 43 points in back-to-back games last week. He only had to play 24 minutes in the Spurs' 119-97 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday, which means he's been resting up for the matchup against the Mavericks since sometime in the third quarter, close to a full 48 hours before Wednesday's tip. The Spurs host the rival Mavs at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Here are three giant obstacles the Mavs will have to climb in order to get a win against last year's NBA Finalists from the Western Conference.
We're just 10 days removed, as of this writing, from the season's first matchup between the Spurs and the Mavericks, San Antonio suffocated Dallas, which was without second-year superstar Cooper Flagg do to a shoulder injury, 122-106 , in that one.
Without Flagg, who was nursing a shoulder injury, and with Kyrie Irving sitting out suffering from "injury management" on the second night of the first back-to-back set of the season, the young Spaniard Sergio de Larrea took the reins for the Mavericks and turned heads for 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting (3-of-4 from 3-point range) in just his third-ever NBA game. The undermanned Dallas bunch kept it close for three quarters before San Antonio put the Mavs away late behind a balanced effort that saw Wembanyama score a game-high 23 points and Dylan Harper add 22 more.
The Mavs will show the Spurs a completely different look this time around, with Flagg and Irving fully operational for the marquee matchup. Irving was taken off the injury report after sitting out his second game of the year against the Kings . The pair combined for 68 points in the last game they appeared in together, last week's surprise 116-111 win over the Houston Rockets .
There's nothing figurative about the next tall hurdle the Mavs will have to get over (or through) if they want to get an ever-elusive win in San Antonio. They'll have to contain Wembanyama.
His 23 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots in the teams' first meeting is a pretty good reference point. In that one, it wasn't really Wemby who overwhelmed the Mavs as much as it was the trio of swingmen in De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, who got anything they wanted against Dallas "swinging door" defense.
Daniel Gafford will no doubt be instrumental in Dallas' effort to rein Wembanyama in on Wednesday. He's strung together two really good games, is averaging 1.9 blocked shots of his own so far this season and has pulled down seven or more rebounds in five of the team's first seven outings — the last five, actually. He's been much more effective and efficient than he was last season, when he was hampered by nagging injuries throughout the year. He's been an important cog while the Mavs wait on the rest of the tall tall trees, in Dereck Lively II and Santi Aldama, to get healthy.
Aldama is close, inching ever closer to making his Mavericks debut, as his progress on the injury report suggests. He has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday's game as of Tuesday night. But for now, the tall task of limiting Wembanyama falls primarily on the shoulders of Gafford, who stands at least six inches shorter than the Frenchman.
Let's see how many bodies the Mavericks throw in Wemby's direction on Wednesday.
After yet another "injury management" related absence in what ended up devolving into an embarrassing loss to Sad Sack Sacramento , Kyrie Irving is not listed on the Mavericks' injury report going into the matchup against the Spurs. He needs to be the catalyst on offense at San Antonio — not to make up for the loss his absence could have prevented, no. But because when he's the catalyst on offense, the Mavs have a chance to take down even the league's better constructed teams.
Friday's win over the Rockets is just the latest evidence. The Mavericks don't have another player on the roster who can do the things that Irving can do — namely, dribble the basketball. He'll be the best-rested guest in the West, so there are no excuses, either.
In order for the Mavs to have a big night, it starts with a big night from the point guard position. Look for Irving ot log at least as many minutes (35) as he did against Houston and for the Mavericks to make this one a nail-biter down the stretch because of his disruption.
The Mavericks and the Spurs will tip off on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN, which means tip-off probably won't be until about 8:50 in reality. You can catch the stream on MavsTV, and the radio broadcast will be on KRLD 105.3 The Fan.
Source: Sports
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