Mavericks beat Spurs 105-97 in Game 1

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Relax now, Dallas Mavericks: the playoff road drought is over.

Josh Howard led the Mavericks to their postseason road victory since their NBA finals run in 2006, scoring 25 points in a 105-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.

The sixth-seeded Mavericks, who had lost nine consecutive playoff road games, took a big Game 1 win over their Texas rivals in typically tough San Antonio. It was just the Spurs' fourth home playoff loss since 2007.

Tim Duncan scored 27 points, and Tony Parker had 24 for the Spurs.

Game 2 is Monday night in San Antonio.

"We haven't played well on the road all season long," Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We've had ups and downs but we finished the season strong and I think that gives us confidence."

Dallas hasn't won a playoff series since 2006, when it beat the Spurs in a thrilling seven-game West semifinals series before losing to Miami in the finals. This one had the look of that memorable, neck-and-neck series before Dallas pulled away in the fourth, when unlikely star Jose Barea scored seven of his 13 points.

As the sellout crowd trudged toward the exits, about a dozen Mavs fans in green and blue hollered "Let's go Mavs!"

The Mavericks were 18-23 on the road this season but ended the season strong, winning seven of their last nine to avoid slipping further in the playoff bracket. Entering the series, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the Mavs were playing as well as Cleveland or the Los Angeles Lakers.

San Antonio entered the playoffs facing big doubts about how it'd fare without Manu Ginobili, who's out for the playoffs with an injured ankle. In the fourth quarter, when the Spurs could've used his offense and energy the most, the Spurs were outscored 31-23 and let the Mavs shoot nearly 58 percent.

Nowitzki scored 19 points, and Erick Dampier had 10 points and 11 rebounds. But the big difference was Howard.

Playing through a bad ankle that will require surgery this offseason, Howard wad 9-of-18 before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. Since rejoining the Dallas lineup March 31, Dallas is 8-2 overall and 7-1 in the games he's played.

Duncan, wearing a sleeve on his achy left knee instead of the bulky contraption he wore at practice Friday, scored five points in the fourth but couldn't help the Spurs keep pace. Duncan has never lost a first-round playoff series.