After going down early by twenty points, the Dallas Mavericks rallied past the San Antonio Spurs for a 104-99 win last night in Dallas. With their third straight win, the Mavericks moved to 3-1 for the season and remained tied for third in the Western Conference. The Spurs’ fourth straight loss dropped them to 1-4 and a four-way tie for twelfth.
“I didn’t think we were going to get that slow of a start, but it happens in this league,” head coach Jason Kidd said in the post-game press conference. “This is a team win, but the bench came in and gave us some energy that was much-needed, and then from that point on, we started to get into the game.”
The Spurs led 25-5 with 3:43 left in the first quarter, holding Dallas scoreless for the first 2:43. Six early points came from San Antonio center Jakob Poeltl, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds total.
The Mavs silenced the Spurs for the rest of the quarter and went on a 31-4 run to go up 36-29 with 6:07 left in the half. Dallas guard Jalen Brunson scored 13 of his 19 points off the bench to lead the momentum.
The Spurs persisted, and a three-point buzzer-beater from guard Bryn Forbes made the score 49-47 with San Antonio in the lead at halftime.
After five third-quarter lead changes, it was 76 apiece. 48 seconds into the fourth, San Antonio took the lead with a three from forward Lonnie Walker IV, but the Mavericks then went on a 21-7 run to make the score 97-86 with 5:07 left.
The Spurs responded with a 13-5 run, capped by a three from guard Dejounte Murray to make it 102-99 with 1:01 left. However, they missed their last three shots and two free throws, and Dallas escaped 104-99.
Mavs guard Luka Dončić had a game-high 25 points. Brunson had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Power forward Maxi Kleber filled out the stat sheet with 12 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks, two assists, and a steal. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds, and center Dwight Powell scored 11.
Murray led the Spurs with 23 points, ten rebounds, and eight assists. Forbes (15), Poeltl (14), and forwards Walker (14) and Keldon Johnson (10) all scored in double-digits.
Dallas faces the Denver Nuggets on the road tonight at 9 pm CST on ESPN.