SAN ANTONIO -- Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle found plenty of positives in his teams performance against San Antonio. His counterpart, Gregg Popovich, could not stomach the Spurs awful and pathetic play.Oh, by the way, San Antonio won.Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Spurs escaped with a 96-91 victory over the struggling Mavericks on Monday night for their sixth straight win.Dallas (2-11) is off to its worst start since 1993-1994, when the Mavericks opened 1-23 in a 13-win season. But they put a scare in San Antonio, which had to keep Leonard on the floor for much of the fourth quarter.This was a pathetic performance on the part of the Spurs, Popovich said in a 30-second postgame interview. You know, they had some guys out, we had some guys out, but they had a lot more out than we did. I thought we showed a lack of humility, a lack of respect for the opponent, a very pathetic performance at both ends of the court. It was an awful performance. Oh, and they deserved to win the basketball game, I forgot to say that.Dallas almost did.With the Mavericks trailing 92-91, Harrison Barnes missed a step-back 17-footer with 15 seconds left that Manu Ginobili rebounded before being fouled. Ginobili hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three, and Seth Curry missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining.Curry matched a career high with 23 points, shooting 5 for 10 on 3s. Barnes and Wesley Matthews each had 20 points in the Mavericks sixth consecutive loss.Its tough, but the guys were fighting their (rear ends) off and theres a lot of positives, Carlisle said. Weve got to build on positives.San Antonio has won six straight against Dallas and 12 in a row at home.The once-heated rivalry between the Texas teams has cooled considerably with the Spurs sustained success and the Mavericks injuries and free-agent troubles.Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and starting point guard Deron Williams both missed the game with injuries. San Antonio starters LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker were in uniform but neither played as Popovich opted to rest his veterans.Spurs rookies Dejounte Murray and Davis Bertans made their first starts in place of Parker and Aldridge, respectively, and fellow rookie Bryn Forbes also saw extended playing time early.Barnes took advantage of the inexperience, making all but one of his six attempts in scoring 10 points in the opening quarter.Dallas shot 8 for 27 on 3s.I think we really did an awful lot of good things, Carlisle said. Theres going to be missed shots, but it was one of our better shooting nights this season so far, so thats a positive.The Spurs enjoyed greater success when their veterans took the court.We let ourselves down in terms of bringing the energy and effort that we usually are pretty solid at, said Spurs reserve Patty Mills, who had 17 points. I dont think we were consistent throughout tonight. We win them together and we lose them together. We get better together.Leonard drove the lane and dropped a bounce pass between Dwight Powell and Dorian Finney-Smith that David Lee dunked ahead of a foul by Salah Mejri to pare the lead to 63-62. After Ginobili missed a 3-pointer, Lee tipped out the rebound to Mills for a 3 that gave San Antonio a 68-65 lead.Dallas had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, which resulted in 12 points for San Antonio.Pau Gasol added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs.TIP-INSMavericks: Nowitzki (strained right Achilles), Williams (strained left calf) and G Jose Juan Barrera (strained left calf) did not travel with the team. ... The last undrafted player to score 26 points in his first or second game prior to the Mavericks Jonathan Gibson doing so Saturday in Orlando was Spurs guard and New York playground legend Lloyd Daniels. He had 26 points on Nov. 7, 1992, at Denver. Both players hit the mark in their second game. ... Curry also had 23 points Nov. 8 in a 109-97 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers.Spurs: Leonard has scored in double figures in 48 straight games, the longest streak of his career. He is 95 for 100 on free throws this season. ... Gasol has played 37,565 career minutes, moving him past Clyde Drexler (37,537) for 49th in NBA history. ... G Nico Laprovittola missed the game with what Popovich described as a tooth-extraction thingy. ... The Spurs have established the longest home winning streak in series history. Dallas won 11 straight matchups at home from 1986-89.WINNING WAYSPopovich became the second-fastest coach to 1,100 career wins, doing so in 1,588 games. Phil Jackson collected his 1,100th victory in 1,560 games with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Popovich is the seventh coach in NBA history with 1,100 wins.INJURIES MOUNTMavericks players have missed 31 games due to injury this season. Devin Harris (12), Nowitzki (nine) and Williams (six) have all missed at least a half dozen. Barnes said Dallas doesnt believe a return to health will cure all that ails the team on the court.We just have to stay vigilant and just continue to keep fighting the way we do, Barnes said. We just cant assume once we get Player X, Player Y, Player Z, the wins will start falling in place. Weve just got to keep plugging away.UP NEXTMavericks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.Spurs: At the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. Wholesale Air Max China .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Cheap Nike Tn Shoes Wholesale .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.airmaxwholesaleforsale.com/air-max-90-wholesale.html .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Cheap Nike Tn Shoes Online .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Cheap Air Max 720 Wholesale . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. CINCINNATI -- The Milwaukee Brewers remain on pace to establish a new major league record for strikeouts in a season. But, manager Craig Counsell said how the strikeouts relate to run production is what hes most concerned about.Thats always going to be the most important number for me, how we get there to produce runs, said manager Craig Counsell. If we figure out a way to cut down our strikeouts to produce more runs. Thats how I look at the strikeout number.The Houston Astros struck out 1,535 times in 2013. The Brewers have fanned 1,374 times through 145 games, including nine punchouts in a 6-4 loss on Tuesday, keeping them on track for the all-time mark.We knew we had guys going into the season that were going to strike out a lot, said Counsell. We knew it was going to maybe be a high number, but how it relates to producing runs is really what were more concerned about.Right-hander Junior Guerra whos played a big role in the success the Brewers rotation has enjoyed in recent weeks, will start Wednesdays series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.Over the past 21 games, Milwaukees starters have posted a major league best 2.91 ERA. Guerra has made 11 quality starts. Opponents are batting .216 against him.Wednesday will be his third start since coming off the disabled list where he was from August 8 to September 1 with right elbow inflammation. Guerra received no decision in his only start against the Reds on May 8 at Great American Ball Park when he allowed four earned ruuns in six innings in a 5-4 Brewers victory.ddddddddddddRight-hander Tim Adleman will make his tenth career appearance and start for the Reds on Wednesday. Its his sixth start since being promoted from Triple-A on August 16. He last faced the Brewers on May 6, allowing one earned run in five innings in the Reds 5-1 win. Adleman might have more than nine starts under his belt had it not been for a strained left oblique which had him on the DL from May 19 to August 2. Adleman was promoted on August 16 to take Cody Reeds spot in the rotation.Adleman will have to contend with Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun who historically has hit well against the Reds, particularly in Cincinnati. Braun has 20 career homers at Great American Ball Park, his highest total in any ballpark.Cincinnati, which has won five of six against the Brewers and is 30-25 since the All-Star break, could be without a couple regulars on Wednesday in center fielder Billy Hamilton and shortstop Zack Cozart.Hamilton hasnt played since straining his left oblique during an at-bat on September 4. Cozart has missed three games with soreness in his right knee, which he had season-ending surgery on last season.Were really at the mercy of how his knee responds on a daily basis, manager Bryan Price said regarding Cozart. Id like to be more proactive. Its almost impossible to define when its going to get sore. ' ' '