The San Antonio Spurs caught a break, with Dirk Nowitzki still out with an injury, the Dallas Mavericks proved no match to the league leaders.

The Spurs built an early lead and routed the Mavericks 101-89. 

Here are the numbers that stood out in this Spurs' latest win.

79.3 - The Spurs had a huge advantage from the foul line making 23-29 (79.3%) free throws. The Mavericks made just 11-18 (61.1%) of their foul shots.

52 - San Antonio owned the boards, outrebounding the Mavericks 52-39.

46.2 - The Mavericks shot the ball well from the 3-point area making 6-13 (46.2%) three-pointers. The Spurs connected on 6-16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc.

45 - San Antonio hit their shots from the field, they made 36-80 (45%) of their field goals. The Mavericks weren't bad either, making 36-83 (43.4%) field goal attempts.

18 - Tony Parker set the tone on offense leading the Spurs with 18 points and six assists. DeJuan Blair had a great game, he registered a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

16 - Tim Duncan had another solid performance scoring 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in just 24 minutes of action. 

13 - J.J. Barea and Dominique Jones scored 13 points a piece from the Dallas bench.

6 - Matt Bonner scored six points in just eight minutes and was not able to play in the second half because of aggravating an injury. Antonio McDyess provided a boost from the Spurs' bench with six points and 10 boards.

0 - For the third straight game, Duncan did not commit a single turnover. Richard Jefferson had seven points and five rebounds and zero turnovers in 30 minutes of action.

Rookie Watch: Neal scored eight points, grabbed three boards and had two assists in 26 minutes. Tiago Splitter had one point, three rebounds and one assists in 15 minutes of playing time.

What's Next? The Spurs will host the Denver Nuggets at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Sunday.

Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21

Ian Mahinmi will be playing with a little extra motivation tonight as he prepares to take on his former teammates, according to Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas.

The last time the Dallas Mavericks played in San Antonio they were down a center because Brendan Haywoodwas suspended. Tonight, the Mavs could be without under-the-weather Tyson Chandler. Either way, Ian Mahinmi said he's looking forward to seeing some minutes against his former team. 

"I know tonight’s going to be minutes for me," the third-year French center said after the morning shootaround. "I’m going to prepare myself and I am looking forward to the game." 

"I like playing here. It’s always good to come back against your former team," Mahinmi said. "You always want to have a good game. Last game I had a good game and we got out of here with a win so it was a great feeling to me."

With Dirk Nowitzki out and the possibility reduced minutes for an under-the-weather Tyson Chandler, Mahinmi should see some playing time tonight possibly playing some spot minutes defending Tim Duncan, who he guarded in Spurs practices for the last few years.

No Dirk Nowitzki. No Caron Butler. No problem for the San Antonio Spurs tonight, according to the latest numbers coming from Acccuscore.

Accuscore has the Spurs as a 73 percent favorite to win tonight's game in the AT&T Center. You can see their full report below. 

The San Antonio Spurs will face the Dallas Mavericks tonight who will be without their star Dirk Nowitzki. This will mark the second time the Mavericks face the Spurs without him. The Mavericks lost to the Spurs 99-93 in December without Nowitzki.

To make matters more difficult, the Mavericks will also be without Caron Butler who might be out for the season after undergoing knee surgery.

"I'm not answering any Dirk questions," Carlisle said after the loss. "We don't have Dirk, so it's not a topic that's worth discussion. We've got to win with the guys we have."

"Dirk increases his workouts every day, and signs are positive," he told the team's official website. "But it's very important that we focus on the guys that we have available at this time and make sure that he gets back absolutely 100 percent healthy." (source cbssports.com)

Currently, the Spurs (33-6) hold a six game lead over the Mavericks (26-11) in the Southwest division.

You can't go a week without seeing some sort of list ranking the best point guards in the NBA. It's an ongoing debate in the NBA. This is due to the high number of great point guards in the league that are not only competent but they are able to be the best player on a playoff team.

Everywhere you look someone has their version of the top five. Friends debate lists and writers put out their own lighting up forums with flame wars with fans defending their guys. But often San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker isn't mentioned in a top five point guard list.

It's rather curious to me that the most accomplished point guard in the NBA under 30 isn't frequently included on anyone's list and the bulk of the top five is under 30.

A three-time champion and former NBA Finals MVP, who just a couple of years ago led the NBA in points-in-the-paint, will garner a facial expression like you just pulled some ones hair if you put him in your top five. How is this possible?

Like a lot of stars who have been playing for a decade or more they are taken for granted. People kind of let them slide to the back of their mind. We all do it with athletes of every sport, and it's seemingly been done to Tony Parker now. They see a typical stat line of 20 points and seven assists and shrug it off because it's expected. People always want to see fresh, young, exciting talent full of promise. It stokes their imagination and wonder where this athlete could end up in his career and what great things could he accomplish. Thus is the business model of sports. Older consistent players are pushed aside for younger and more exciting players on the highlight reel. This is how those lists get warped. People fall victim to the marketing pushes of ESPN and flashy colors and it affects their judgement. Even seemingly intelligent writers fall victim to it.

This wasn't always the case with Tony Parker. Tony's name used to be on any list when talking about dynamic young players with loads of potential. Tony's tear-drop was one of the most talked about shot's in the NBA. Kids tried using it in playground games and people would add in comments when talking about him like ''Did you know his dad is American but played pro ball in Europe?'' to let everyone know they knew some obscure fact about this rising star.

His coming out party was really in the 2003 NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets. He showed the world how good he was matching up against Jason Kidd at his absolute apex and outplaying him in game three so clearly that at the post-game presser a reporter asked Kidd if Parker was better than him. This was All-NBA Defensive team and best point guard in the world Jason Kidd! The buzz couldn't have been louder for a young, promising player.

Tony's star has dimmed a bit in recent years. With the Spurs recent lack of playoff success and his injury plagued season last year. His nasty divorce with Eva Longoria isn't helping him garner any top point guard mentions either. A basketball player is ill equipped to handle these types of star divorces as Longoria has all the PR people and industry connections to get out in front of the story and capitalize on it. She can literally dictate the story, and has. This can make someone look like a villain and probably has made him one in some people's eyes. I'm sure this has influenced some writers opinion of Tony Parker the player whether consciously or unconsciously.

When I look around the league I only see six point guards who could run a championship team: Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Deron Williams , Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash and Tony Parker, but not necessarily in that order.

That's the list. Everyone else is either too inexperienced or too old. Until Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose win a playoff series or have such outstanding regular seasons, they have to be mentioned in such lofty company then they shouldn't be mentioned. Tony Parker is objectively one of the top six point guards in the league.

He is the second scoring option on the leagues best team among other accomplishments. The reasons for him to be left off any list may have more to do with intellectual laziness and spite than any real basketball analysis. Let's hope the masses come to their senses and include this potential Hall of Famer in the best point guard discussion.

Follow Jake on Twitter @upstait

• San Antonio Spurs rookie Gary Neal continues to receive accolades this time from Sports Illustrated:

The Spurs' league-best record is, as ever, a product of Tim Duncan's post play, Tony Parker's whiz-bang playmaking and Manu Ginobili's creative scoring. But San Antonio also has its best group of reserves in years, and Neal has been as valuable as any. He is easily their biggest surprise, averaging 8.5 points.

• By now everyone has heard of Spurs' guard Tony Parker splitting from his ex-wife Eva Longoria. However, Parker has stated the divorce has actually made him focus more on basketball:

In an interview with France's Le Parisien, the San Antonio Spurs player said that the sport helps him to put things in perspective and to "make sense of things".

"The most important thing is to stay strong mentally, even if these are very difficult times," he explained.

"I've taken refuge in basketball because that's what I've done best since my youth."

Parker added: "You have to know how to keep things in perspective. I am, first of all, a basketball player.

"I've done this for so very long… For me, it's been essential to be successful on the court." (source digitalspy.com)

• Should Tim Duncan be an All-Star? Well Air Alamo debates this topic. Here is an excerpt:

Tim Duncan is undoubtedly one of the 10 best NBA players of all time, and probably the greatest power forward ever. That being said, is The Big Fundamental a Western Conference All-Star this year? To answer, we’re first going to have to acknowledge that yes Timmy’s production has slipped.

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about Matt Bonner thriving inside the three-point line. 

• Manu Ginobili speaks on all the technical fouls called on the Minnesota Timberwolves when the Spurs faced them recently:

• Duncan talks about the Spurs' recent victory against the Milwaukee Bucks:

• And finally our good buddy John Karalis over at Reds Army might have had too much time on his hands and had some fun with Duncan and the Boston Celtics:

(videos courtesy of woai.com)

The San Antonio Spurs may soon be following the Phoenix Suns with the second D-League call-up of the season, but according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, that player won't be coming from Austin.

Tulsa 66ers forward Larry Owens appears to be a player the Spurs have targeted and is rumored to be receiving a 10-day contract from the Spurs this week.

The 6-7 Owens, who worked out with the Spurs this summer, is averaging 13.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the 66ers this season. 

Rob Mahoney of Pro Basketball Talk says Owens could do some damage knocking in three-pointers from the perimeter and would fit right in in San Antonio.

"Owens should fit right at home in San Antonio, tucked away in the corner to fire away from three-point range. He’s made 37.7% of his three-point attempts during his two-year D-League career, and an impressive 46.4% mark from long range during last season’s D-League playoffs (during which Owens led the 66ers all the way to the D-League Finals). On top of that, Owens is a solid positional rebounder and a long defender, making him a suitable complement for the Spurs’ array of talented players. Owens won’t play much if at all, but he certainly fits the San Antonio mold of the role-player-in-waiting, ready to step in and contribute at the first sign of injury trouble." 

I got a chance to speak briefly with Kevin Henry, who covers Owens and the Tulsa 66ers for his blog, 66ers Nation and he seems to think it may be tough to crack the rotation in San Antonio, but Henry is not surprised at the rumor of Owens in silver & black.

"Wouldn't surprise me. He has the skills," Henry said. "(Owens has) just been waiting for his turn to get a chance. It looks like SA has a nice rotation already so it might be tough to break in."

Henry also said Owens has the ability to drive and create and serves as a leader on the court for the 66ers. 

While a signing has not been made official, we'll be sure to let you know right here on Project Spurs when it becomes confirmed.

It's day two of Toros TV and the Austin Toros (the San Antonio Spurs D-League affiliate) show you around after their win against the Dakota Wizards at the 2011 D-League Showcase in South Padre Island, Texas.

From waking up, taking in the view, breaking down game video and more be a part of life with the Toros.

On episode 234 of the Spurscast, it's another cell-cast as I'm out of town, but Jeff and I still had a chance to get together and talk about the latest San Antonio Spurs news.

After our week in review, we discussed the games against the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics games at length, which Jeff was there on the road with the Spurs representing Project Spurs. We also went over some of the things we liked and disliked about the past week's games.

To end the show, we took differing viewpoints on our topic of the week, "have the Spurs come back down to earth?"

Listen to us debate the topic and then leave your comments!

The Spurscast. The original Spurs podcast.

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