GDT: Mavs vs. Suns 7:30 CT (4/12/14)

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Both the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks were recently overrun by the San Antonio Spurs, who rolled to clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Now the two teams battle each other to gain the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker in Dallas on Saturday night while aiding their hopes of avoiding the reigning Western Conference champions in the first round.

San Antonio wrapped up the league's best overall record after storming past Phoenix 112-104 on Friday night.

Eric Bledsoe had 30 points and 11 rebounds while finishing one assist shy of a triple-double, but the Suns (47-32) dropped into a tie with Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot -- one-half game behind Dallas -- and now must put aside the sting of blowing a 21-point second-quarter lead in quick fashion.

"We had too many good shots and good looks early," said Bledsoe, who also committed seven of Phoenix's 18 turnovers that led to 26 points for San Antonio. "We thought we were going to come in the second half and it was going to be easy like the first half and we just weren't as aggressive or locked in."

Gerald Green added 27 points in his first start since March 12 and has averaged 23.5 on 52.1 percent shooting -- 47.8 percent from 3-point range (22 for 46) -- in his last six games. He had 22 off the bench in a 123-108 home win over Dallas on Dec. 21, but only 12 on 4-of-13 shooting as a starter in place of Bledsoe on Jan. 17 in a 110-107 home defeat.

Leading scorer Goran Dragic (20.5 points per game), who sat out Friday night's loss with an ankle injury, is expected to play. He's totaled 41 points and 12 assists in the two games against the Mavericks this season.

Dallas (48-32) has been idle since a 109-100 home loss to San Antonio on Thursday that ended a four-game winning streak. The Mavericks were swept in the four-game season series by the Spurs, and the Suns didn't fare much better against them -- their lone win in four contests came with San Antonio point guard Tony Parker out due to injury.

"Most of our problems were in transition," coach Rick Carlisle told the team's official website after the Mavericks allowed 35 fast-break points. "We just didn't find them fast enough. We just weren't good enough in that area."

Monta Ellis had 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 19 for the Mavericks, who have dropped five of eight at home due to a porous defense that has yielded at least 100 points in every game and an average of 111.9 on 48.3 percent shooting in that span -- including 40.8 percent from 3-point range.

"Obviously, Saturday's huge for us," said Devin Harris, who had eight points and was just 1 of 8 from the field. "We've got to come out with that type of effort, knowing that our season's on the line and it's a game that we must have."

Perimeter shooting has keyed both victories. Phoenix made 15 of 30 from beyond the arc in its December victory while holding Dallas to 3 of 17. The Mavericks tightened up defensively in January, limiting the Suns to 7-of-22 shooting from 3-point range while going 9 for 24 themselves.

After this game, Phoenix will host Memphis on Monday and complete its season at Sacramento on Wednesday, while the Mavericks are idle until wrapping up their season Wednesday at Memphis.