The Dallas Mavericks are still feeling the aftermath of last season’s shocking Luka Doncic trade. They came away with the #1 overall pick last season, cashing that chip in by selecting Cooper Flagg out of Duke, but at 19-31 little else has gone their way. Reviled GM Nico Harrison was relieved of his duties in early November while Anthony Davis, the biggest acquisition from the Luka trade, was traded to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday ahead of the NBA trade deadline. With Davis now out of the picture and closing the door more or less on the Luka debacle, Dallas is poised to commence a full rebuild with the 19-year-old Flagg as the face of the franchise.
Tonight represents a rare home/away SEGABABA for the Silver and Black, as they come into town after a hard-fought win last night against the defending champs. They’ve shown very recently though just how capable they are of getting in late and still playing with a winning effort.
San Antonio Spurs (34-16) at Dallas Mavericks (19-31)
February 5, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Watch: KENS 5 | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Jeremy Sochan, quad (OUT), Dylan Harper, ankle (questionable), Kelly Olynyk, foot (questionable), Lindy Waters III, knee (OUT)
Mavericks Injuries: PJ Washington, concussion (OUT), Brandon Williams, leg (Questionable), Daniel Gafford, ankle (Questionable), Kyrie Irving, ACL (OUT)
What to watch for
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Cooper Flagg has shown real flashes of the player he can be throughout his rookie season. Only 19 years old, Flagg scored 49 points in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets last week, setting the record for the most points ever scored by a teenager in NBA history. His 3 point shooting stands out as a particularily glaring weakness (he’s hitting only 29% of his looks from outside), but he’s at least aware of this limitation, as 3s make up a relatively small portion of his shot chart. He followed up that 49 point outburst with 34 points on the road at Houston and 36 more at home against the Celtics.
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Dallas finds itself bereft of talent at center, which could bode well for Victor Wembanyama tonight. The oft-injured Davis wasn’t the Maverick’s only problem in the middle, as they’ve been dealing with a season-ending injury to Derek Lively II, an ankle injury ending his season in November. Backup center Daniel Gafford finds himself questionable with an ankle injury coming into this game. All this could make Wemby even more wide open than usual on the lob.
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The former Duke tandem of Flagg and Kon Knueppel have largely dominated the rookie conversation as the season has reached its midway point, but fellow rookie Dylan Harper has managed to carve out an important role on a top team in the Association. The #2 overall pick has flashed his potential plenty as part of the Spurs’ bench unit this season. Harper, who had scored 15 or more in each of his last 3 contests, missed last night’s game against the Thunder. If he can give it a go tonight, it’ll be interesting to see how he looks next to Flagg at the midway point of the season.
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