DALLAS _ Gregg Popovich hadn't reached the visitors' locker room upon first arriving at the American Airlines Center on Monday before he had an unpleasant encounter.
In the hallway between the team's back-door entrance and San Antonio's locker room, the Spurs' coach walked underneath a banner of Dirk Nowitzki, mid-shot, hanging from the ceiling.
"I thought I was done with this guy," Popovich thought. "Do I have to look at him again before the game starts?"
The real Nowitzki wasn't in the arena, and hasn't been for a game since his retirement in the offseason, but Popovich's momentary relaxation, interrupted by a rivalrous memory, underscored a unique aspect of Mavericks' first contest against the Spurs this season.
It marked the first time since 2002-03 that neither Nowitzki as the Mavericks' legend or the Spurs' Big 3 _ Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker _ were on their respective rosters as players.
"It's been gradually moving in that direction," Carlisle said, referencing Duncan's retirement as a player in 2016, then Ginobili's in 2018 and Parker and Nowitzki's after last season. "It's probably not as big a storyline as it could be if two or three of those four or five guys all of the sudden stopped. But San Antonio's done a great job with continuity and developing young players and getting them ready to fill roles.
"That's what we're in the middle of now ... Rebuilding is challenging, but at times, it's an obvious necessity. We've been going through it for three years here. We're still in it. We like our roster and stuff, but we're still developing our young players, and they're still learning a lot."
Enter the new wave.
Luka Doncic had been part of the four clashes with the Spurs during his Rookie of the Year campaign last season, but had never won. The Mavericks entered Monday with five straight losses to San Antonio, their last victory Dec. 12, 2017.
But as Doncic led the Mavericks' first-quarter burst _ tallying 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in the first 12 minutes and finishing the first half with 24 points _ the Mavericks made clear their potential to reverse the hierarchy, at least now, against their in-state foe.
Doncic finished with a career-high 42 points to lead the Mavericks to a 117-110 win over the Spurs on Monday. Doncic also added 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season.
The Spurs entered Monday having lost five straight games, a stretch that felt more like 17, Popovich quipped before the contest.
"I'm very clear on how motivated they are, and I talked to the team a little bit about it this morning, briefly," Carlisle said. "It's a really important game. But we can only focus so much on how motivated they're going to be, and we've got to keep ourselves motivated and ready to go."
The Mavericks' rivalry with the Spurs _ during decade-plus of overlap between Nowitzki and the record-setting San Antonio core _ feature a deep element of head-to-head and championship history, in addition to the local, Southwest Division comparisons.
The Spurs won four titles (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014) and Dallas claimed one (2011) in the stretch. They faced off in four playoff series, the results split. Duncan, now a Popovich assistant, and Nowitzki were league MVPs, and Parker added the title in the 2007 Finals.
While the current rosters haven't experienced such interconnectedness, the competition this year will likely stem from pursuit Western Conference playoff spots, the Mavericks' first since 2016 and the Spurs' record-23rd straight.
Carlisle expects his young, new core will be quick to learn the rivalry's components. Or they could reflect on the history as Popovich did. "It's always different coming onto a court and the star that was basically the backbone of the franchise is gone," Popovich said. "It sort of gives you pause and makes you understand how fortunate you are to still be there.
"Because pretty soon I won't be."
