AP - Aron Baynes bagged an NBA career-high 16 points but it wasn't enough to lift a weary San Antonio on Saturday as the struggling Spurs lost 99-93 to the Dallas Mavericks.
Replacing Spurs legend Tim Duncan, Australian forward Baynes added 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes.
San Antonio (17-11) have now lost four in a row for the first time in almost four years.
They sat out Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter after losing back-to-back triple-overtime games on Wednesday and Friday to Memphis and Portland respectively.
However, they matched the Mavericks (20-8) and racked up 30 points in the third quarter to hold a 77-75 lead going into the fourth.
The Spurs faded, shooting just 31 per cent in the final term as Rajon Rondo tallied six points and nine assists in his Dallas debut.
The four-time all-star Rondo also had seven rebounds for the Mavs, who snapped a 10-game regular-season losing streak to the reigning NBA champions.
Point guard Rondo was acquired from the Boston Celtics in a blockbuster trade two days ago in exchange for Jameer Nelson, Brandan Wright and Jae Crowder, a first-round pick and a second-round pick.
Monta Ellis scored a game-high 38 points, Chandler Parsons added 16 points while Dirk Nowitzki and Devin Harris scored 13 points each as Dallas earned their third straight win.
Marco Belinelli led San Antonio with 21 points while Cory Joseph and Matt Bonner each had 14 points.
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