Spurs 92, Mavericks 91: Tim Duncan scored 28 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as host San Antonio survived a late rally to clinch a playoff spot for an NBA-high 16th straight season.

The Spurs nearly blew all of an eight-point lead in the final two-plus minutes and watched Vince Carter's potential game-winner bounce off the rim as time expired. Gary Neal scored 16 points off the bench for San Antonio, which recovered from a 24-point loss at lowly Minnesota on Tuesday.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 21 points, including a jumper with 28 seconds left that pulled the Mavericks within 92-91. Darren Collison had 12 points and four others finished with 10.

Nowitzki's 3-pointer with 7:46 left gave Dallas its only lead of the game at 78-77, but Neal answered 20 seconds later with a 3 and Duncan scored seven straight points to make it 89-82 with 4:20 left.

After a Kawhi Leonard 3-pointer put the hosts up 92-84, Carter's 3-pointer and Nowitzki's jumper highlighted a quick 7-0 burst that made it a one-point game. Dallas elected not to foul on the other end and forced Manu Ginobili to miss with nine ticks remaining, setting up one last chance for Carter, whose shot from the top of the arc was off.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Mavericks F Shawn Marion missed his fourth straight game with a left calf injury. He is expected to miss Friday's game against Cleveland as well. ... The Spurs reached the 50-win mark for the 14th straight season, extending their own NBA record. ... San Antonio, which had a 49-35 advantage on the glass, is 4-2 since All-Star guard Tony Parker was sidelined with an ankle sprain.