The Dallas Mavericks (25-56) went out with a whimper against San Antonio Spurs (62-19) at Frost Bank Center on Friday, dropping a 139-120 blowout loss to their once hated rivals. Cooper Flagg matched Victor Wembanyama step for step with 33 points and six rebounds in the loss, but no one rode shotgun alongside the rookie superstar. Eight Mavericks, including Naji Marshall, P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson were held out with injuries with just one game to play following Dallas’ 11th loss in the team’s
last 13 games.
Wembanyama led all scorers with 40 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Spurs in the win.
Here are four stats that tell the tale of the Mavs’ latest trip to the ‘L’ column.
15-4: Spurs’ first-quarter rebounding advantage
With eight Mavericks listed as out on Friday’s injury report, Khris Middleton started at power forward, and Marvin Bagley III started at center. The Spurs feasted on the glass early on as a result. They missed 12 shots in the first quarter and grabbed five offensive boards in the frame. Victor Wembanyama, who needed to play in one of the Spurs’ final two games of the year to maintain his eligibility for postseason awards, and Julian Champagnie each recorded five rebounds in the first quarter as the Mavs’ smallish frontcourt struggled to start the game. San Antonio took a 37-26 lead after one, aided by their outsized advantage on the boards.
The Mavs made up some of the difference in the second quarter, when they out-rebounded the Spurs 15-9. San Antonio out-rebounded the Mavericks 58-42 on the night and bludgeoned the Mavs 72-42 in the paint.
25: First-half scoring by Cooper Flagg
With so many bodies on the sidelines, it was a foregone conclusion as to who would shoulder the scoring and playmaking burden for the Mavericks, who seem intent on campaigning for Flagg’s candidacy for NBA Rookie of the Year as the regular season comes to a crashing halt.
Flagg shot 10-of-16 from the field in the first half, including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, to lead all scorers with 25 points at the break. It was the 14th 20-point half of his rookie season. Since the 1996-97 season, only Allen Iverson (16) has recorded more halves with 20 or more points scored than Flagg has this year.
13-2: Mavs’ late second-quarter run
With 4:32 left in the second quarter, Chapagnie hit a runner in the lane to put the Spurs up 60-50. Over the next 2:45, the Mavs went on a 13-2 run to take a 63-62 lead on Middleton’s 3-pointer from the right wing. The Mavericks hit three straight 3-pointers on the run, as Christie nailed one near the top of the key the possession before Middleton hit his, and Flagg banged one in with a hand in his face from the left wing as the shot clock showed just one second before that.
The Mavericks’ first lead of the game was short-lived, though, as Wembanyama scored the Spurs’ final six points of the first half to give San Antonio a 68-65 lead at halftime. The Mavs’ unlikely but timely shooting (8-of-20, 40%) from deep kept them afloat in the first half.
2-of-14: Mavs’ shooting to end third quarter
The Mavericks took back the lead with 7:55 left in the third quarter, 81-79, on Flagg’s driving score assisted by Dwight Powell. Dallas made just two field goals across the rest of the third, shooting an anemic 2-of-14 from the field.
All Mavericks not named Flagg went 0-of-14 from the floor in that span, as San Antonio outscored Dallas 29-12 the rest of the way in the third. And that was basically all she wrote. The Spurs led the Mavs 108-93 as the fourth quarter loomed.
