‘Lost In The Fight’: Dallas Mavericks Rally From 19 Down, Fall To San Antonio Spurs 112-111 As Victor Wembanyama Scores Career-High 52

SAN ANTONIO — With 2.5 seconds left Wednesday night, Kyrie Irving missed a 15-foot turnaround jumper that would have finished a comeback from 19 points down. The Dallas Mavericks lost 112-111 to the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center, where Victor Wembanyama scored a career-high 52 points and grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds.

Wembanyama made 16-of-28 shots from the field and 19-of-23 free throws. He also blocked 8 shots, and San Antonio was plus-23 in his 34:04 on the floor. The Spurs (6-2) won their sixth straight game, and Dallas fell to 4-4.

Dallas trailed 68-51 at halftime and 73-54 with 8:31 left in the third quarter, then outscored San Antonio 60-44 after the break. Mavericks coach Dusty May said his team got to the basketball much quicker in the second half than it had before halftime.

“I thought we battled, competed,” May said. “In the second half, I thought we were much quicker to the basketball than we were in the first half. We stopped challenging [Wembanyama] at the rim and started making better decisions with the basketball. And credit San Antonio, they found a way to win it at the end.”

Before tip-off, May said the Mavericks had to be the team playing with the most desperation after Monday’s 115-100 home loss to the Sacramento Kings. Dallas did not shoot its best and did not get to the line as much as May wanted, but every possession after halftime looked like it was of the utmost importance.

“I just thought we got lost in the fight in the second half. We competed at a high, high level,” May explained. “It looked like every single possession was the utmost importance, and that’s how we have to play. Even though we didn’t shoot our best and we didn’t get to the line as much as we’d like, things like that, we still played with a high, high level competitive spirit.”

“Obviously there’s a couple possessions we wish we had back as a group, but you don’t get them back, and so now it’s our job to learn from them,” May continued.

Dallas shot 38.2% from the field and went 14-of-37 from three-point range. San Antonio shot 38.9% and made 5-of-36 threes, but it outscored the Mavericks 62-40 in the paint and went 33-of-39 at the free-throw line to Dallas’ 19-of-26. The Spurs also outrebounded Dallas 61-50.

Irving led Dallas with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists on 9-of-27 shooting, including 5-of-14 from three. Naji Marshall scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench. P.J. Washington had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Cooper Flagg added 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Victor Wembanyama Scores 29 In First Half As San Antonio Spurs Build 68-51 Lead

On two dunks and six free throws, Wembanyama scored 10 of San Antonio’s first 12 points. He had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the first quarter, which ended with the Spurs ahead 32-26.

Dallas led 26-25 with 1:26 left in the first after a Walter Clayton Jr. three-pointer off a Marshall pass. San Antonio scored the final 7 points of the quarter, the last 5 of them by Wembanyama.

Wembanyama checked out with 8:48 left in the second quarter and the Spurs ahead 43-34. After a Dylan Harper three-pointer made it 48-36, Dallas went on a 12-1 run and pulled within 49-48 on a Daniel Gafford cutting dunk off a Marshall feed with 5:03 left in the half.

San Antonio closed the half on a 19-3 run. Inside the final four minutes, Wembanyama blocked three Dallas shots on one possession, turning away Flagg, Washington, and Gafford between 3:51 and 3:38. He went to halftime with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks after making all 15 of his free-throw attempts. The Associated Press reported that he became the first player since the NBA’s play-by-play era began in 1996-97 with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a half.

The Spurs went 25-of-27 at the line before halftime. Dallas went 5-of-8. Irving had 17 first-half points on 6-of-16 shooting, and Flagg went 1-of-11 from the field and scored 4.

Wembanyama finished with 9 offensive rebounds. May said San Antonio’s wings attacked the glass aggressively, and the Mavericks needed all five players on the floor to finish possessions.

“Each game just is going to look a little bit different. We’ve got to just play the game in front of us,” May said. “And it took all five of our guys and their activity on the glass to come up with those rebounds, with as aggressively as they went with their wings, and then obviously Victor getting nine offensive boards.”

Wembanyama attempted 23 free throws. May, in his first season as an NBA head coach, said that is a lot for one player in one game.

“That’s a lot, that’s a lot. So, no, I’m new to this,” May said.

Dallas did a better job of staying down on Wembanyama’s fakes in the second half. The problem, as May described it, came when the Spurs got their switches and threw the ball over everyone else.

“Yeah, it’s tough. I thought the second half we did a better job of staying down,” May said. “It’s just when they are able to get their switches, and even when you defend it well and there’s tight spaces, they can throw it so high above everyone else. Credit him, his spatial awareness and ability to catch it with one hand and redirect it in the rim. At the end of the day, his biggest possessions were his tip-in and those plays.”

Irving said Wembanyama was at the free-throw line for what seemed like the whole first half and that his aggression has been rising over the past few games.

“He’s so tall. I mean, it’s definitely a challenge. He poses the same challenge for every team,” Irving said. “I feel like we matched up pretty well, but tonight he got it going. It’s going to be nights like this where some of the best players in the world, they’re going to make it difficult on you. Got to the free-throw line. It seemed like he was at the free-throw line the whole first half, and he was making an impact for his team.”

“You can see his aggression has been raising over the past few games as well. His teammates are supporting him,” Irving continued. “And that’s the Western Conference champs right there until another champion’s crowned. So gotta give them their respect, but obviously we know what we can do to compete with them and eventually win the game against them.”

Marshall said Dallas made better decisions against Wembanyama in the second half.

“Wemby’s a terrific player,” Marshall said. “Going there at your own risk. I think we made better decisions in the second half, and shout out to us. You just gotta carry that mentality into the whole game.”

Naji Marshall, Kyrie Irving Lead Dallas Mavericks Back In Second Half

After Stephon Castle hit a three-pointer for a 73-54 lead with 8:31 left in the third quarter, Dallas outscored San Antonio 26-17 the rest of the period and trailed 90-80 entering the fourth. Irving scored 10 points in the third, and Flagg added 7 on 3-of-4 shooting.

Marshall scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from three. His three-pointer with 8:17 left cut the deficit to 94-92. With 6:05 to go, Flagg finished an alley-oop from Caleb Martin and made the free throw to tie it at 100, and Washington’s three-pointer 27 seconds later gave Dallas a 103-100 lead, its first since the first quarter.

Wembanyama tied it with a three-pointer at 5:20. From there, San Antonio led by no more than 3 the rest of the way. Wembanyama’s putback with 2:39 left made it 109-106, and his tip-in at 1:47 made it 111-108 after Washington blocked a Harper layup.

Marshall tied the game at 111 with a three-pointer off a Flagg pass with 1:41 left. He blocked a De’Aaron Fox jumper on the next possession, but Devin Vassell stole Marshall’s pass at 1:24. Irving missed a 27-foot three-pointer with 43.3 seconds left, and Washington fouled Wembanyama with 24.2 seconds left. Wembanyama missed the first free throw and made the second, finishing 1-of-4 at the line over the final 2:10.

Dusty May, Irving Break Down Final Possession

Out of a Dallas timeout, May said, the Mavericks wanted Irving driving middle against Fox with Flagg cutting from the corner. They went into it a little too late.

“I just wanted to give him a double gap. We had Fox on him and wanted to get a drive middle and Coop cutting from the corner,” May said. “Just felt like we had an advantage in space and probably attacked a little bit too late.”

The play call gave Irving an advantage and a look going toward the rim. He did not have his legs under him at the end, and Fox bumped him off his spot.

“I think we had a play called. We talked about it after the game as well, just in terms of the timing of it and just knowing time to score and just what everybody’s comfortable with,” Irving said. “I’m truly grateful to have the confidence from my teammates, and I have the most confidence in myself to be able to make some tough shots down the stretch. But it was a great play call for me to at least create an advantage and take a shot at least going to the rim.”

“And I got a good look at it, but I just didn’t have my legs underneath me as well. And Fox did a great job of bumping me off my spot,” Irving added. “And that’s just sometimes the tale of the game.”

Marshall Returns To Form After Illness

Marshall missed two games last week with an illness before returning Oct. 30 against the Houston Rockets. He said Wednesday that he felt like he was letting his teammates down while he was sick.

“Man, it was beautiful, great feeling. Talking about helping the team, I’m there for my teammates,” Marshall said. “I feel like I’m gonna let them down. Just being sick, I know I’m a human, can’t control that. But I just wanna win and be there for my team, so. Just blessed and happy to be back in my regular form.”

Irving said the Mavericks would not have been in the game without Marshall, whose big three-pointers shrunk the gap.

“He made a great impact, a huge impact, and we need more from him moving on throughout the season,” Irving explained. “And tonight was a little funky in the first half in terms of how our offense was looking, but defensively, like I said, if we would have come up with some of those 50-50 basketballs, I think we’d be in here talking about a different game.”

“You got to give credit to them for their effort, and we just didn’t match it. So Naji coming in and picking up and being able to make some dynamic plays and some big threes really helped us a lot, and it shrunk the gap,” Irving continued. “And without him playing the way he did tonight, I don’t think we’d be in this game.”

Marshall made good decisions with the ball and was active on the glass, according to May.

“Naji was very good,” May said. “I thought he made good decisions with the ball. He was competitive. He was active on the glass. He played really, really well.”

Cooper Flagg Finds His Shot After Halftime

Flagg scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting after halftime and was plus-18 in the second half. He was the only Dallas starter with a positive plus-minus for the game, at plus-2. May said Flagg’s first-half misses were shots he had been making all season.

“I thought the same thing in the first half. I thought he was making shots that he had made all year up to that point, and they just weren’t dropping for him,” May said. “But I thought he just got lost in rebounding, and I thought he made great passes. I thought he played really well in just a really good floor game in the second half.”

Irving said Flagg will go through ups and downs like every other professional and started seeking his own shot in the second half.

“He’s going to go through ups and downs just like every other professional. It doesn’t take away from his talent or his skill set or what he’s capable of doing,” Irving said. “He’s just got to figure it out, and we’ve got to do a better job as teammates of giving him that support. He has the confidence in himself, but I think he knows it’s just a choice that he’s got to make at times just to go out and be aggressive and seek his own shot.”

“I think he started to do that in the second half, and you look at the plus-minus, I mean, he was plus-two, pretty much out of the starting five,” Irving continued. “So he was giving us what the game needs, and I think we’ll only see him get better from these last two games.”

Irving Works Off Minutes Restriction

Irving took 27 shots in 35:58. He said he is getting in better shape and working off his minutes restriction, which lets him put his foot on the gas when defenses dare him to shoot.

“It’s just me getting in better shape and kind of getting off this minutes restriction a little bit and being able to give what the game needs more consistently,” Irving said. “Conditioning is a huge part in our business and our industry. And when you’re playing a competitive game, you want to be able to make an impact. And my teammates and my coaching staff are trusting me with that.”

“Just gotta do a better job of my minutes and continue to be impactful. But also just be aware that when teams are giving me shots and kind of daring me, or I feel like the possessions are getting out of hand, it’s time for me to just kind of be aggressive and put my foot on the gas pedal,” Irving noted.

May said the Mavericks trust everything about Irving’s game and that San Antonio’s size, strength, and athleticism forces tough shots.

“Kai’s Kai. Obviously, we trust him. We trust everything about his game,” May said. “I thought at times everyone on our roster played really well, and at times we didn’t do as well. But I’m happy with his performance. They’re an excellent defensive team, so they’re going to force some tough shots.”

“And it’s a challenge when you look at the size, strength, and athleticism across the board. It’s not as if you can just get whatever shot you want against those guys,” May added. “I thought in the second half our players worked well together. They were connected and generated some good shots together.”

Walter Clayton Jr., P.J. Washington Help Fuel Second-Half Push

Clayton played 11:17 in the fourth quarter and had 4 of his 5 assists in the period. He finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. May said Clayton played really well.

“I thought he was playing well. I think he played really well,” May said.

Washington’s physicality in the second half stood out to May, who said Washington was high-pointing rebounds and throwing his body around. Washington had 4 offensive rebounds.

“I thought he made a couple good decisions on the pick-and-roll. I thought we were able to get some matchup advantages, he posted up, which caused some in-and-out jump shots and some overreactions,” May said. “And then his physicality in the second half, I thought he was high-pointing rebounds, he was throwing his body around. I thought he played extremely active in the second half, but he also played well in the first half.”

Marshall said Washington is going to be Washington wherever he plays, including at center in Dallas’ small lineups.

“PJ is great, whatever position you put him at, PJ is gonna be PJ,” Marshall said. “He’s a very big part of this team. We’re gonna need him down the stretch. It’s still a very young season. And I like where we’re at, getting better every game.”

Mavericks Turn Focus To Faster Starts

Dallas committed 8 turnovers that led to 5 San Antonio points. In the Oct. 24 meeting, the Spurs forced 21. May said the next problem for Dallas to solve is rebounding.

“Much better job taking care of the basketball. If we do that, we’re going to be in these games like everything else,” May said. “So as soon as you plug one hole, there’s another one to address. And so now we’ve got to figure the rebounding thing out. We’ve got a long ways to go, but we at least took a step forward in the second half.”

Irving said the Mavericks gave up 32 and 36 points in the first two quarters, and that is not where they want to be.

“In the first half, they had full control of the momentum and rhythm. And I feel like in the second half, we buckled down, started building towards that identity, like I said, that we’re trying to get for ourselves. So it starts with me. It starts with Dusty. It starts with Coop. It starts with some of the other leaders on the team,” Irving said. “But to start off the game and give two quarters up, 32 and 36, that’s not where we wanna be.”

“And when you’re giving up that amount of points in the first half, teams are gonna be very comfortable, and you gotta work your way back,” Irving continued. “We’ve seen a few games from us like this throughout the season, but I think we have to start treading in a direction where we’re going into halftime with the lead.”

Marshall said Dallas showed itself what it is doing wrong by waiting until it was down 19 to play its style.

“I mean, I feel like it’s a bad thing. I feel like we’re kinda telling on ourselves and showing ourselves personally what we’re doing wrong,” Marshall explained. “I feel like we’re letting ourselves down. Just practice what we preach, go out there from the jump and play like that. Who knows how the game will turn out.”

Harper scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting for San Antonio. Castle had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Fox scored 10 with 4 assists. Gafford played 17:38 and did not appear after the 7:55 mark of the third quarter.

Dallas played without Max Christie (right hip soreness), Sergio De Larrea (right knee sprain), Santi Aldama (right knee surgery), Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery).

The Mavericks host the Utah Jazz on Friday at American Airlines Center in NBA Cup group play, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. CT. San Antonio visits Sacramento the same night.