Dirk's 3 at buzzer comes up short vs. Spurs

SAN ANTONIO – Dirk Nowitzki set his feet in the corner directly in front of the Spurs bench and let it fly.

“I was running back to the locker room,” Jason Terry said. “I thought it was good. Nine times out of 10, he’s going to make it.”

It must have been that one other time. Nowitzki’s open 3-pointer at the buzzer caught iron and backboard, but never felt the net and the Mavericks fell to the Spurs 97-95 Wednesday night at the AT&T Center.

The Mavs missed out on a golden opportunity to go up 2-0 on the defending champs. San Antonio played their first game of the season without Tim Duncan, who was injured Sunday. The Mavs (12-7) return home after a 1-2 road trip that included an overtime loss at New Orleans.

The Mavs don’t have time to dwell on the loss with Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Denver Nuggets visiting American Airlines Center on Thursday. The two-game homestand ends Saturday with Utah.

“Tough loss for us,” Terry said, “but the good thing is we get to go home and play tomorrow.”