San Antonio @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2017 ) Dallas 108, San Antonio 115

All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard is expected to make his season debut when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. Leonard, who was listed as probable after participating in Monday's practice, missed the first 27 games of the season due to a quadriceps injury.

San Antonio is playing well without the two-time NBA Defensive of the Year by winning eight of its past nine games. But coach Gregg Popovich and the players have been eagerly awaiting the return of Leonard, who averaged a career-best 25.5 points last season while supplying his usual lockdown defense. "We can be proud of the work we've done so far," center Pau Gasol told reporters after Monday's practice. "Now it's about Kawhi coming back and incorporating him and adjusting to that and being just as good or better." Dallas is back home after a winless three-game road trip, an excursion that ended with Sunday's 97-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio, Dallas)

ABOUT THE SPURS (19-8): Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been in a go-to scoring role similar to his tenure in Portland with Leonard sidelined and is averaging 22.7 points, much better than last season's 17.3 mark. Aldridge's scoring may not take a hit in the short term while Leonard finds his stride and gets his game conditioning in order but will likely drop eventually. "There will probably be an adjustment phase in some way, shape or form," Popovich told reporters. "We're going to add somebody who is going to have the ball a lot, and he's pretty good. They'll all have to adjust."

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (7-20): Rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (hip) will miss his third consecutive game and coach Rick Carlisle said the team will be cautious with the emerging star. "He played with a pretty significant ankle injury last year, but this is all about getting a diagnosis from the doc and finding out exactly what it is and making sure he's 100 percent," Carlisle told reporters. "It does no good to bring him back at 85 or 90 percent if there's a chance he could re-injure it based on the fact that we didn't bring him back at 100 percent." Smith, the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft, has been an instant hit by averaging 14.4 points, four rebounds and four assists per game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Spurs are 2-0 against the Mavericks this season and have won 10 of the past 11 meetings.

2. Dallas SF Harrison Barnes is averaging 14.5 points on 8-of-30 shooting in the two games against the Spurs.

3. San Antonio SG Danny Green (groin) is listed as probable after a one-game absence.

PREDICTION: Spurs 113, Mavericks 105