NBA: Playoffs-San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks
NBA: Playoffs-San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks Reuters

This Texas tiff between the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks is now tied at 2-apiece after both squads stole one on the road with a crucial Game 5 looming on Wednesday night when the series shifts back to San Antonio.

Like the series score, the games have been close—save one— and have been decided in the end game.

In Game 1, Tim Duncan scored 27 points rallying the Spurs to a 100-95 victory despite trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half. The next game, the Mavericks built another big second half lead and this time never gave it up to steal one in San Antonio with the runaway 113-92 victory.

In Game 3, veteran Vince Carter saved the Mavericks with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give his team the close 109-108 win. Then in the last outing, the Spurs blew a 20-point advantage but the collapse was averted by a Boris Diaw shot from behind the arc to help San Antonio to a 93-89 win and even the series.

Back to square one and back to their go-to strategy: stop Dirk Nowitzki for the Spurs and stop Tony Parker for the Mavericks.

Both players are struggling in this series—mainly by design and not their fault. The German shooter have been limited to 38.5 per cent from the field and just 20.0 from the three-point line in this series while the French speedy guard was contained to just 10 points in the last outing after missing 9 of 14 attempts.

Will one of Nowitzki or Parker explode in this series? Who will have the advantage after Game 5?

Watch the Mavericks vs. Spurs game via NBA League Pass.

Betting Lines: Dallas Mavericks (+5.5) vs. San Antonio Spurs (O/U: 198.5)
 Game time: 9:00 am AEDT

Betting Against the Spread (ATS)

Dallas Mavericks Trends
 - The Mavericks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games
- The Mavericks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. West teams
- The Mavericks are 4-0 ATS in this series

San Antonio Spurs Trends
 - The Spurs are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after a win
- The Spurs are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games
- The Spurs are 0-4 ATS in this series