While Parker has long proven to be one of the NBA's elite small guards, Barea barely played in his first two seasons behind Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. But with second-leading scorer Josh Howard and shooting guard Antoine Wright both sidelined recently, Barea has become a bigger part of Dallas' rotation, and he's made a convincing case to become a regular.

Barea had 15 points off the bench in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers last Tuesday, and was even better after joining the starting lineup for the next two games. He had 18 points in a 112-97 win over Phoenix on Thursday, and a season-high 22 in a 100-98 victory against Atlanta on Saturday.

Barea's 16 third-quarter points matched Atlanta's output for the period as Dallas (11-8) turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

"It's just been great just being out there with the guys," said Barea, who had 24 total points in the team's first 12 games. "Winning has been the most important thing. My confidence gets higher and higher."

Dallas has won nine of 10 games and is 7-1 without Howard, who averages 20.3 points but has been sidelined because of a sprained left ankle. Howard and Wright could both return against the Spurs (11-8), but even when those two come back, coach Rick Carlisle has seen enough to keep Barea in the crowded mix for playing time.

"I'm a believer that anything is possible," Carlisle said of Barea's emergence. "Would I have predicted it? No."

Barea played only two minutes in the Mavericks' first meeting with San Antonio this season. Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 30 points and Jason Terry 29 in Dallas' 98-81 road win on Nov. 4.

Parker had 22 in that contest, but suffered an ankle sprain two games later that kept him out for three weeks. He's been back for the past five games, and after the Spurs suffered ugly losses to Houston and Detroit, Parker has led the way to two impressive wins.

He had 22 points and eight assists on Thursday in a 108-91 win at red-hot Denver, then had 17 points and eight assists in just 20 minutes of a 123-88 rout of Golden State on Saturday.

"We've had two great games, and hopefully we can keep this going," said Manu Ginobili, who made his third start after returning from an ankle injury in late November. "We just tried to move the ball. It's the things we always try to do, but sometimes it doesn't work."

Ginobili is averaging 13.6 points in 21.7 minutes per game since his return, and both he and Parker have shot the ball well. Ginobili is shooting 52.6 percent from the field in seven games, while Parker is connecting on 53.3 percent.

Tim Duncan, meanwhile, is averaging 21.3 points on 56.1 percent shooting in three games with Parker and Ginobili starting.

San Antonio split two meetings in Dallas last season despite woeful shooting from Parker, who averaged 10.0 points on 15.6 percent (5-for-32) from the field.