The Mavericks arrive in San Antonio with a respectful air for the Spurs, a team they consider the best in the league.

But Dallas also is brimming with confidence. The Mavericks can look to experience gained through recently completed grueling playoff series against the Blazers and Kings, and two particularly closely fought contests against San Antonio during the regular season.

"That's in the back of our minds; that can be a beneficial," Michael Finley said Sunday, referring to the Mavericks' 95-87 win over visiting San Antonio on Feb. 20 and 112-101 overtime loss at Dallas on March 20.

"We will now be playing against the best team in basketball, but we have shown that we can raise our level of play according to who we are playing. We will have to do that."