The Mavericks came up one point short in San Antonio, but the night was really defined by Victor Wembanyama doing something outrageous and Dallas refusing to fold.
San Antonio escaped with a 112-111 win on Wednesday, moving Dallas to 4-4 on the season. Kyrie Irving was back in the lineup after the Mavericks’ ugly loss to Sacramento on Monday, and P.J.
Washington gave Dallas an early lift by scoring seven of its first 10 points. But Wembanyama answered immediately, putting up 10 of the Spurs’ first 12 and finishing the opening quarter with 15.
Dallas had to deal with more than the scoring. Cooper Flagg looked out of sorts early, and Wembanyama’s rim protection made everything harder. Flagg was 1/11 well into the second half after shooting 3/19 on Monday, and Wembanyama had five blocks in the first half alone, with a few more coming right after the break.
Even with Flagg struggling, the Mavericks hung around for much of the first half thanks to Washington and Irving’s shooting from deep. The Spurs were up 49-48 with five minutes left in the half, then Daniel Gafford missed a chance to tie it at the line. San Antonio closed the half on a 19-3 burst and went into intermission ahead 68-51.
Dallas started to find a rhythm once Wembanyama sat in the third quarter. Flagg hit a pair of shots in the lane, and Irving sparked the comeback with nine points in three minutes. Walter Clayton Jr. then buried a corner three to trim the margin to eight and force a Spurs timeout.
By then, Wembanyama had already put together a monster line through three quarters: 40 points, 19 rebounds and 7 blocks. Still, Dallas kept pushing.
Clayton Jr. used a sharp fake pass to get Wembanyama out of position and finished at the rim. Flagg then drew Wembanyama inside and kicked to Naji Marshall for a three that cut the deficit to seven.
Marshall attacked again on the next trip and then hit another three to make it a two-point game.
The Mavericks finally tied it when Caleb Martin launched a pass from just inside halfcourt to Flagg for a layup over Luke Kornet. P.J.
Washington followed with a three to give Dallas its first lead since it was 26-25. Wembanyama answered with a three of his own, and the game stayed tight from there.
With about three minutes left, Wembanyama scored his 47th point at the rim to put San Antonio back in front by three. Flagg and Irving answered with strong finishes at the basket, and Marshall tied it again with a corner three after Dylan Harper went down on the other end, though the source noted it was not a serious injury.
Wembanyama went to the line with 24 seconds left after having missed three straight free throws entering that trip, despite making his first 18. He missed the first, made the second, and the Spurs held a one-point lead with one possession left. Dallas gave Irving the ball one-on-one, but he missed, and the Mavericks fell just short.
Wembanyama’s final line was absurd: 52 points, 24 rebounds and 8 blocks.
One takeaway from the game was how Dusty May handled the matchup. He leaned on Washington as the primary defender on Wembanyama and used bigger bodies like Gafford and Morez Johnson Jr. on Stephon Castle, whom the Mavericks did not trust to shoot. Wembanyama still got his, but the rest of the Spurs had a harder time finding comfort.
Rebounding was a problem, especially with Dallas going small and using Washington at center. But those smaller lineups also gave the Mavericks more life offensively in the second half.
The game also strengthened the case for Walter Clayton Jr. He finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers, and May trusted him in the closing group. The source also says Clayton will have a standard contract from the Mavericks before the end of the season.
Naji Marshall was another bright spot after a rough stretch. After criticism earlier in the week, he responded with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 9/12 from the field and 3/3 from three. The Mavericks will need that version of him more often if they want to stay in the mix in the Western Conference.
In Other News...
Cooper Flaggs Historic Start Just Got More Complicated
Cooper Flaggs first month in the NBA has already pushed him into rare company, and the early numbers are still striking for a 19-year-old trying to find his footing in Dallas. Entering the recent game against the San Antonio Spurs, he was averaging 25.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists, production that has helped him move into the conversation with some of the best teenage scorers the league has ever seen.
The recent scoring dip has made the climb a little more complicated, even as his place on the all-time list continues to grow. With 17 games left before he turns 20, Flagg still has time to add to that standing, but the next few weeks will say plenty about how high he can rise before this chapter closes. [Read more 🡒]
Cooper Flaggs Scoring Slump Is Becoming A Real Mavericks Concern
Cooper Flagg still found ways to impact the game in the Mavericks 112-111 loss to the Spurs, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Even so, the bigger takeaway was the same one that has followed him lately: the shot is not falling with the kind of consistency Dallas needs, and the rookies recent stretch has started to draw real attention inside the building.
Dusty May and Kyrie Irving both addressed Flaggs performance and the challenge he is working through, a sign that this is becoming more than a one-game issue. For a Mavericks team trying to steady itself in close games, Flaggs production matters, but so does the way he responds when the scoring comes harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Naji Marshall Just Showed Dallas An Offensive Option It Desperately Needed
Naji Marshall gave Dallas a much-needed glimpse of a different kind of offense in a tight game against the Spurs, turning in a 22-point night on efficient shooting while helping steady a comeback effort. His ability to score in a variety of ways stood out, especially in a setting where the Mavericks were searching for cleaner looks and more room to operate.
Marshalls value may be even greater if Dallas keeps leaning into smaller, more flexible lineups around him. With his pick-and-roll comfort and efficiency at the rim and in the mid-range, he looks like the kind of secondary creator who can make the offense less predictable, which is exactly the sort of option the Mavericks have been trying to uncover. [Read more 🡒]