SAN ANTONIO _ On Military Night, Luka Doncic arrived at AT&T Center as basketball's version walking wounded.
His sore left thumb and sprained right wrist were wrapped in tape. Black tape, the primary color of Tuesday night's opponent, San Antonio.
Doncic overcame those aches with yet another big performance against the Spurs, but San Antonio rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to pull out a 119-109 victory and avert its first season sweep at the hands of Dallas.
Behind Doncic's 38 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, the Mavericks rallied from a 101-90 deficit and pulled within 104-101 with 4:07 left, but could get no closer.
To Dallas' misfortune, LaMarcus Aldridge on this night returned from a six-game absence due to a shoulder strain and poured in a team-high 24 points.
The Mavericks (39-27) dropped their second straight game and now host Denver on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back, when they'll try to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.
San Antonio (27-36) needed this win in its uphill attempt to extend its amazing run of 22 straight seasons of making the playoffs.
The Mavericks led 64-51 barely two minutes into the third quarter, but the Spurs scored the next eight points, continuing a night-long pattern.
Every time Dallas spurted, San Antonio responded. The biggest response came after Tim Hardaway Jr. sank back-to-back jumpers to give the Mavericks a 78-71 lead with 4:08 left in the third quarter: The Spurs reeled off 21 of the next 26 points.
The Mavericks walked into AT&T Center with a chance to do something the Dallas franchise has never done in 40 seasons of playing San Antonio: Earn a season sweep.
"Anytime that the Dallas Mavericks get a chance to beat San Antonio every game in a year, we've got to do it," veteran guard J.J. Barea, who has played in 33 of the 184 regular-season meetings between these teams. "They've been really good for a long time. It's been a great rivalry. Now, this year, we've got the edge, but you never know. We've got to take advantage as much as we can."
Doncic went to the arena earlier than usual to test his wrist. As he moved slowly around the court, putting up jumpers, he didn't seem to be following through, perhaps because his wrist was stiff and sore.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle expressed worry: "I'm afraid it's something that could bother his shooting and things like that, but we'll see."
Carlisle's concern seemed to materialize when Doncic missed his first three shots _ and at one point, when whacked across the hand, clutched his wrist and grimaced.
Doncic closed the first half by making six of his next 10 shots and finishing with 18 points, seven assists and some animated dialogue with referees Josh Tiven, Tre Maddox and J.T. Orr.
"Hopefully in the future he learns how to deal with it a little bit better," Barea, perhaps Doncic's closest friend on the team, said of his 21-year-old teammate's frustrations with opponents' physical play and lack of calls from officials.
"It comes with the way he plays," Barea added. "He plays so much. He's got the ball in his hands. The other team knows that if they affect him, they can beat us. So they're going to go after him every night. That's something he's got to get better at and keep learning."
How, exactly, can Doncic improve?
"Pick his spots," Barea said. "Just be smarter out there. Maybe wait until the fourth quarter to be that aggressive. Stuff like that. But he's still a young kid. He's still learning. He's just got to stay positive with it. It's a grind."
