The Spurs finally have a win to point to, and Mitch Johnson made it clear after Saturday’s 122-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks that the formula is not complicated.
San Antonio opened the 2026-27 NBA season with two losses, then snapped that skid with a far cleaner, more complete showing against Dallas. Compared with the games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, this one looked far more like the team the Spurs expect to be.
What stood out most to Johnson was not a single big number or one flashy stretch. It was the way his team competed for loose balls, cleaned the glass and defended with much more purpose than it had shown in the first two games. That, more than anything else, is what he wants to keep seeing.
"Effort goes a long way. It's as simple as it sounds.
As talented as these guys are, consistent effort with just a little bit of togetherness and execution can really be something to grow upon and build upon... We just have not been consistent enough in a lot of ways," Johnson said after the Spurs' win against the Mavericks.
The performance also gave Victor Wembanyama a chance to look like himself again after rough outings to start the year. For a player widely viewed by a big part of the NBA community as an MVP candidate, Saturday was a much-needed return to form.
The Spurs entered the season with one of the league’s most talented rosters and the kind of expectations that come with that. They did not meet those expectations in the first two games. Johnson had already said in preseason that the Spurs weren’t ready yet, but this win offered a different picture - one that could be the beginning of a much better stretch if the effort holds.
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The Mavericks latest stumble came at the hands of a Spurs team that looked more composed when the game tightened, and the result only deepened the sense that Dallas is searching for answers. San Antonios 122-106 win was built around Victor Wembanyama, who led all scorers with 23 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocks, while Dylan Harper and DeAaron Fox gave the Spurs steady production in the backcourt.
For Dallas, the frustrating part was not just the final margin but how the game slipped away once San Antonio started to settle in. The Spurs finished with a strong defensive push in the closing stretch, and the Mavericks were left trying to recover from another night in which the effort to keep pace never quite matched the urgency needed to turn the game around. [Read more 🡒]
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De Larrea offered the loudest reminder in a recent game against the Spurs, flashing scoring touch and playmaking in a strong all-around effort. Sasser has also given Dallas useful minutes through the first few games, and together the two have helped the Mavericks look far better equipped in the spots where they were once most vulnerable. The bigger question now is whether that depth holds when the schedule gets tougher and the rotation tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Look Vindicated As Backcourt Pressure Builds Early
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At the same time, other guards are making their case for more of the spotlight. Marcus Sasser and Sergio De Larrea have both flashed enough early to keep the conversation moving, which is exactly the kind of internal pressure that can reshape a rotation before November gets too far along. For Dallas, the question is no longer just which young guards can help now, but which ones are forcing the front office and coaching staff to rethink how this backcourt is going to look. [Read more 🡒]