Forward Brandon Bass scored 14 points, and guard J.J. Barea had a dazzling 13 and three assists, as the Mavs defeated the Spurs 105-97 in the opening game of their best-of-seven NBA first-round playoff series.

Dallas, seeded sixth in the Western Conference, erased homecourt advantage for the No. 3 Spurs.

"We're a humble team," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We're hungry."

Dallas starters did their part. Josh Howard scored 25 points, including 13 in the third quarter. Dirk Nowitzki added 19. Center Erick Dampier took 11 rebounds, four on offense, helping the Mavs to a 21-8 edge in second-chance points.

But the Mavs could not have won without that boost from the bench.

Barea, a third-year guard who went undrafted when he left Northeastern University, set the pace for Dallas in the fourth quarter, which began with the teams tied at 74.

Barea, a starter in the second half, was instrumental in Dallas baskets on three straight possessions early in the fourth quarter.

First he made a jump shot to beat the 24-second shot clock. Next he passed to the 6-foot-8-inch Bass for a dunk. Then he drove inside and passed to Antoine Wright for a three-point basket.

Wright's trey gave Dallas a six-point lead. The Spurs never caught up.

Barea averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 assists in 20 minutes a game this season, 15 as a starter. He scored 21 in one game against the Spurs, 16 in another. He did not score in two other games against San Antonio.

Before Saturday, the 6-foot Barea had scored eight points in nine minutes during three playoff games over two seasons.

Bass, a second-round pick of New Orleans in 2005, did most of his damage in the first half, filling in while Nowitzki sat out with foul trouble.

Nowitzki played fewer than 14 minutes in the half, scoring five points. When he left the game, at the 8:28 mark of the second quarter, the Mavs trailed by 11.

But Bass scored 10 points in the period, converting 5 of 7 jump shots. He enabled the Mavs to erase all but four points from the deficit by halftime.

Howard hit 5 of 8 in the third quarter, staking the Mavs to a 72-63 lead late in the period.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs back, scoring eight points during the final three minutes, his third bank shot during that span creating a tie going into the fourth quarter.

Duncan finished with 27 points.

Tony Parker had 24 points and eight assists for the Spurs, who are without their third star, the injured Manu Ginobili.

But Parker hit just 3 of 9 in the second half, when Barea was assigned to guard him. Parker committed four turnovers in the half.

"I just tried my hardest to bother him," Barea said. "Stay in front of him as much as I could."

Michael Finley scored 19 for the Spurs, and Roger Mason had 13. But another starter, Matt Bonner, did not score a point, missing his only shot.

The Spurs' reserves, meanwhile, had just 14 points.

Dallas reserves scored 39, Jason Terry supplementing Bass and Barea with 12 points.

"The bench just gave them more than we can allow," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Jose Barea and Brandon Bass did a wonderful job."

mrosner@statesman.com; 445-3958