Mavericks Overcome Sluggish Start to Defeat Spurs, 120-109
The Dallas Mavericks fell behind 6-0 and still trailed 49-47 at halftime before outscoring the San Antonio Spurs 40-31 in the third quarter to cruise to a 120-109 season-opening win. The Spurs outshot the Mavericks from the field .453 to .412 and they outrebounded the Mavericks 52-50, but the Spurs committed 19 turnovers and they gave up 19 three point field goals.
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and passed for a game-high tying eight assists, but he shot just 9-25 from the field and looked a bit rusty after missing the preseason due to injury. Klay Thompson scored 22 points in his regular season debut for Dallas, shooting 6-10 from three point range while also accumulating seven rebounds and three steals. Thompson's reliable elite three point shooting is just what the Mavericks need to complement Doncic's all-around brilliance. Kyrie Irving added 15 points on 6-17 field goal shooting, and Dereck Lively II provided 15 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, and six assists off of the bench.
Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan led the Spurs with 18 points each, while Harrison Barnes chipped in 17 points. Big things are expected out of Victor Wembanyama after he won the 2024 Rookie of the Year award, but in this game he shot just 5-18 from the field to score an inefficient 17 points. Wembanyama did not have a great floor game, either, finishing with nine rebounds, one assist, one blocked shot, and four turnovers. A player with his size and skills should be able to score efficiently on a consistent basis, but his shot selection and shooting touch are both very much works in progress. Last season, Wembanyama shot .400 or worse from the field in 23 games.
Even though Doncic and Irving did not score as efficiently as they usually do, the Mavericks won easily after their sluggish start, and the Mavericks look like they are picking up where they left off after their playoff run to the 2024 NBA Finals.
In contrast, the Spurs do not have much to show for their years of tanking to obtain Wembanyama's draft rights: Wembanyama is talented but raw and he has yet to demonstrate that he can have an impact in the win column; the Spurs went 22-60 the year before they drafted Wembanyama, and they went 22-60 in Wembanyama's rookie season. They acquired veteran point guard Chris Paul in the offseason to provide leadership and get the ball to Wembanyama in prime scoring position, but Paul is 39 years old and will be out of the league before Wembanyama reaches his peak. Tonight, Paul had three points on 1-6 field goal shooting, a game-high tying eight assists, and seven rebounds. Paul (-21) and Wembanyama (-20) had the two worst plus/minus numbers in the game. Almost a year to the day after the Mavericks spoiled Wembanyama's debut game, the Spurs still look like a team that is closer to returning to the NBA Draft Lottery than qualifying for the playoffs.
Labels: Dallas Mavericks, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Luka Donic, San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama
posted by David Friedman @ 11:47 PM
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