5 days Ago By Mike Curtis | The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — The signs were there for Saturday to be the night for the Mavericks to emerge victorious after four consecutive losses. They were finally home inside American Airlines Center after a brutal three-game road trip. The San Antonio Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama on the second night of a back-to-back.
Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington were welcomed back into the lineup.
They even debuted a fresh set of uniforms with a new court to match. After failing to take advantage of a non-playoff contender two nights before, the Mavericks bounced back with a 110-93 win over the Spurs. The last four losses were decided by one possession, but the Mavericks didn’t allow that to be the case on Saturday.
Dallas broke the game open in the third quarter with an explosion of 38 points, leading to a 27-9 run over the final seven minutes of the period. Irving and Daniel Gafford were crucial in that stretch as they combined for 23 points in the third quarter. Gafford scored a season-high 22 points off the bench, which were also a season high for any Mavericks player who came off the bench.
His most explosive play of the night occurred in the third quarter when he took one dribble towards the rim and threw down a one-handed slam over Spurs center Zach Collins. It was the sixth consecutive game in which Gafford reached double figures in scoring. That streak ties his career-long run of games with at least 10 points.
After missing Thursday’s loss to the Jazz due to a right shoulder strain, Irving returned and provided the Mavericks a steady scoring presence. He totaled 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. Eleven of his points occurred in the third quarter.
His facilitating was on full display. Late in the first quarter, Irving initiated a fast break by throwing a full-length pass to Naji Marshall, who found Irving darting toward the basket. Irving had an opportunity for a floater but lobbed the ball to Gafford for an alley-oop, which caused the fans inside AAC to rise to their feet.
Luka Doncic played only 28 minutes and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. He received an early night of rest when he checked out of the game with 8:43 seconds left. The Spurs kept the game competitive in the first half without Wembanyama, who missed his first game of the season with a right knee contusion.
Collins, who started at center in his place, led the Spurs with 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Sandro Mamukelashvili had 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Julian Champagnie added 13 points.
Stephon Castle had 12 points. The Mavericks welcomed back Washington, who missed the last five games with a right knee sprain. The Mavericks entered the game 3-3 with Washington in the lineup, but 1-4 without him.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said that Washington would be on a minutes restriction during his pregame press conference. Washington played 19 minutes and finished scoreless with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. After an injury-riddled game in his first start of the season, Dereck Lively II recovered with a much improved performance of seven points, four rebounds and two assists.
He was a deterrent at the rim, tying a season-high four blocks. Lively had five fouls against the Utah Jazz by the end of the third quarter, but he didn’t pick up his first foul on Saturday until the 8:03 mark of the third quarter. The Mavericks wore the second iteration of their “Trinity River Blues” City Edition uniforms on Saturday and the white-and-silver threads were complemented by a silver court.
Dallas started the game on an 11-4 run, but allowed the Spurs to rally back with an 8-0 run following a timeout. The Mavericks allowed another 8-0 run in the span of 53 seconds late in the first quarter, prompting Jason Kidd to burn a timeout. The Spurs ended the quarter on a 12-4 run and the period ended as Doncic was called for a foul with 0.
2 seconds left on the clock. Dallas built momentum in the second quarter and regained the lead with a 14-5 run. The Mavericks tied a season-high with 53 rebounds.
San Antonio totaled 45. Dallas won’t have much time to savor the victory since a date against the team with the best record in the Western Conference awaits in Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But for the first time in 10 days, the Mavericks pulled out a win.
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