Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving get their first crack at the Spurs tonight

The Mavericks get a second shot at San Antonio tonight, and this time they bring their two best players. Dallas (4-3) visits the Spurs (5-2) at Frost Bank Center at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

San Antonio won the first meeting 122-106 in Dallas last month. Cooper Flagg sat out that game with a strained left shoulder, and Kyrie Irving sat for injury management. Irving also missed Monday's 115-100 home loss to Sacramento, the Kings' first win of the season. He is off the injury report for tonight.

Where these teams are

1. The Spurs' streak. San Antonio lost its first two games, to Oklahoma City and Houston, and has won five straight since. Monday's 119-97 win over Utah had all five starters in double figures, with Dylan Harper scoring 17 two days after a career-high 25 against Minnesota.
2. Wembanyama. He averages 25.7 points and 10.7 rebounds. Against Utah he had 12 points and 11 rebounds and only needed to play 24 minutes, so he's rested.
3. Flagg's bad night. The second-year star averages 25.2 points and 6.5 assists, both team highs, but he shot 3 of 19 against the Kings and scored 17.
4. Irving's value. He averages 21.4 points, second on the team behind Flagg. Daniel Gafford and two-way guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 20 each to carry Dallas without him on Monday.
5. Missing bigs. Dallas is without Dereck Lively II (foot), Max Christie (hip) and Sergio de Larrea (knee). San Antonio is missing Tobias Harris (calf) and Jayden Quaintance (knee).

The take

The Spurs went 62-20 last season and the Mavericks went 26-56, and the betting line still treats this like that gap never closed: San Antonio is a 12.5-point favorite. That's a lot of points against a team that beat Houston and Oklahoma City in the last week. But Dallas has to prove the Kings loss was a fluke. Flagg can't shoot 3 of 19 again, and Gafford can't guard Wembanyama alone all night.

Watch the first quarter. In the first meeting the Spurs' guards, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Harper, got whatever they wanted. If Irving keeps them in front of him and Flagg gets to his spots early, this can be a one-possession game late. If not, the Spurs' streak reaches six.