San Antonio finally gets the Irving–Flagg version of Dallas

What changed

San Antonio’s five-game winning streak started in Dallas, but the rematch will present a different Mavericks team. Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg both missed the Spurs’ 122-106 win on October 24; neither is listed for Wednesday, giving San Antonio its first look at Dallas’s two primary creators together.

The Spurs have turned an 0-2 start into a 5-2 record, with four of the five wins coming by double digits. Their latest was a 119-97 win over Utah in which all five starters scored in double figures. Victor Wembanyama enters averaging 25.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and a league-leading 4.0 blocks.

Dallas arrives at 4-3 after Monday’s flat loss to Sacramento. The useful contrast is that Irving and Flagg combined for 68 points in their last game together, a 116-111 comeback over Houston, while the Kings loss exposed how quickly the offense can lose its shape when shots stop falling.

Interpretation: Wembanyama is the obvious problem, but San Antonio’s balance is the bigger test. Dallas needs Irving and Flagg to organize possessions without turning the night into a two-man rescue mission, and it must defend the Spurs’ guards well enough that every rotation does not end with Wembanyama at the rim.