Kawhi Leonard made his season debut with San Antonio on Tuesday night, but his Spurs fell to the Dallas Mavericks 95-89 at American Airlines Center.

Kawhi Leonard return, Spurs vs. Mavericks score

The star forward missed the first 27 games with a right quadriceps injury, and though he scored 13 points on Tuesday, J.J. Barea and his squad exploded in the second half to earn the victory.

“I understand the situation that I’m in and we’re thinking about down the road,” said Leonard, who headed to the locker room late in the third quarter. He scored all his points in 16 minutes.

The Spurs (19-9, 3rd in Western Conference) were coming off a four-game winning streak.

Barea scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and alley-oop dunk partner Dwight Powell added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Leonard last played in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last season, when he injured his left ankle in what eventually became a sweep for Golden State en route to their second NBA title in three years.

Harrison Barnes scored 17 points while Yogi Ferrell and Wesley Mathews had 16 apiece as the Mavericks ended a five-game losing streak at home to the Spurs.

”We have been waiting for a game like this where we go out and play a full 48-minute game,” said Ferrell, who had a career-high eight rebounds. ”We’ve had some good games this season, but we put it all together tonight.”

LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Rudy Gay added 21 points for San Antonio, which shot 29 percent.

The Spurs play at Houston on Friday before their final matchup with Dallas this season on Saturday. The Mavericks visit Golden State on Thursday.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich needs seven more victories to pass George Karl (1,175) for fifth on the NBA’s all-time list.

MEMPHIS, TN – APRIL 22: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs pumps his fist after making a three point shot against the Memphis Grizzlies in game four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at FedExForum on April 22, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

J.J. Barea scored 27 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to an 88-86 home victory over their Texas rivals, the Houston Rockets, on Wednesday night, thus giving the Mavericks a slim lead over both the Rockets and the Utah Jazz in the race for the last two Western Conference playoff spots.

Mavericks Defeat Rockets 88-86

“I like to play fast, too, but slowing it down is working us,” said Barea, who had a game-high eight assists. “We’ve got to stay that way.”

Barea has been the strongest player for the Mavericks as of late, scoring 20 or more points in his last four games and averaging 24.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists during the five-game surge.

The game marked the Mavericks’ fifth straight win–just one short of a season best–and put Dallas (40-38) one game ahead of Utah and two ahead of Houston with four games remaining for all three teams.

James Harden scored 26 points, while Dwight Howard had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets.

“We all know how difficult it is, how important this game was,” Harden said. “It’s not rocket science.”

Dirk Nowitzki got a key steal from Harden on a drive in the final seconds of the game as the Mavericks held on to a one-point lead. Nowitzki scored seven points on eight shots for Dallas. Devin Harris made two free throws for an 88-85 lead for Dallas with 5 seconds left.

“One of the reasons Dirk is having a hard time getting open looks is because we are playing a different style right now,” Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said. “I am proud of our guys for being willing to be team guys and play this way. We lived to fight another day.”

The Rockets were ahead 71-70 going into the fourth after Howard tipped in a lob pass from Jason Terry on an inbounds play with just 0.2 seconds left in the third.

“They got very handsy, they did a very good job of keeping us out of the break,” Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They smothered us in the backcourt.”

Matthews had 16 points for Dallas, including three 3-pointers during a 15-2 run of all 3s to put Dallas up 10 in the second quarter.

The Mavericks will next host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, while the Rockets (38-40) will host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. Dallas is now ranked seventh in the Western Conference, while Houston is ranked ninth.

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