The Dallas Mavericks ground out a nail-biting 109-108 victory in San Antonio on Wednesday. This victory is the second time Dallas has defeated San Antonio this season, as they also defeated the Spurs at home 104-99 on October 28.
Jalen Brunson was the best player on the court for the Mavericks, at one point scoring 13 consecutive fourth-quarter points. “Brunson was a killer again,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said postgame. “In both games, he was the difference. He plays really smart, is a tough kid, he is skilled, and in the fourth quarter, he got us both times.”
Brunson, who finished with 31 points and ten rebounds, continued his hot start to the season and has proven, so far, to be the most consistent player on the Mavericks, besides Luka Doncic. Brunson’s 31 points tied the second-most he has had in his career, and the ten rebounds made this his eighth career double-double and second in this young season already.
Brunson shined due to the San Antonio defense making a concerted team effort to slow Luka Doncic. Doncic finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds but had a very inefficient shooting night by his standards.
Luka made only 10 out of 25 shot attempts, including going 3 of 12 on three-point attempts. Along with Brunson and Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr. played a significant role in the Dallas victory, scoring 15 points in the first half and finishing with 23 points total.
Coming off a 125-110 home loss to Miami on Tuesday, Dallas needed to rebound with a win, and they did it in comeback fashion by outscoring San Antonio 28-25 in the final quarter. At one point in the third quarter, the Spurs held a ten-point lead, but Brunson carried the Mavericks back to only a 2 point deficit at the start of the fourth.
Brunson had seven points, five rebounds, and an assist in the third quarter alone.
In the fourth, Brunson hit the most crucial shot of the night. With the Mavericks leading 103-102 with under 30-seconds left, Brunson hit a difficult contested step-back jumper to extend the lead to three. He also added two free throws in the final moments, and the Mavericks escaped San Antonio with a victory, improving their record to 5-3.
For San Antonio, Dejounte Murray scored 23 points, and Devin Vassell had 21, but this loss is now the team’s sixth out of their last seven games, dropping their record to 2-6.
Dallas will play just 11 times in the next 26 days. Their next game is Saturday, November 6, at home against the Boston Celtics.
