"If the opportunity is there to guard Dirk, I'm going to welcome it with open arms," Hill said. "I like the challenge. I like to defend."

Hill's dream matchup is probably not going to happen. Though the 6-foot-2 Hill has proven he can defend taller players, the 7-foot Nowitzki is probably a little out of his range.

Durant, 6-foot-9, was the tallest player Hill had been asked to defend. Hill held his own, helping to limit Durant to 6-of-18 shooting.

He finished with 25 points, getting 13 of them at the foul line.

"It was difficult guarding him, because he can do so many things, but it was fun," Hill said. "You can't stop someone like that from scoring. All you can do is make it difficult for them."

Nowitzki, the NBA's eighth-leading scorer at 26.3 points per game, falls into the same category.

In a 92-83 victory over Dallas a week ago, the Spurs found some success guarding Nowitzki with a combination of Antonio McDyess, Richard Jefferson and Keith Bogans.

Nowitzki finished with 29 points but was 9 of 27 from the field.

You again? It was only a week ago that the Spurs knocked off the Mavericks without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

For the Spurs , the quick rematch with Dallas makes it feel a little like a playoff series.

"After a while, you learn that's the nature of the NBA," Jefferson said. "I've played home-and-homes with teams before. It's interesting, but I think it's good for us to get these good, competitive games against a quality team."