Recap: Mavericks 71 at Spurs 93

Earl K. Sneed recaps the Mavericks' road loss in San Antonio, where the defending champions produced a season-worst offensive night while surrendering 16 3-pointers to the rival Spurs.

SAN ANTONIO — No matter how many faces change, the rivalry between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will remain constant.

Facing each other for the first time since the Mavericks claimed the first NBA championship in franchise history to compare to San Antonio’s four, the Dallas team entered the AT&T Center ready to match strengths with a shorthanded Spurs squad playing without injured swingman Manu Ginobili. And with the new-look Mavs trying to climb themselves out of their early-season hole — bidding for a third straight victory after dropping three straight to start the season — coach Rick Carlisle stressed to his players not to overlook their Southwest Division rival even with Ginobili out for at least six weeks due to a fractured left hand.

Under the direction of Carlisle, the Mavericks hit the hardwood ready to contend with perennial All-Stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The Mavs also hoped to contain the Spurs’ supporting cast in Ginobili’s stead, looking to reach .500 in the standings for the first time in the shortened season.

Thursday night, with one of the Spurs’ Big Three out of commission, it was San Antonio’s role players that got the Mavs’ attention early in the divisional matchup. And even with Ginobili on the mend, the Spurs were able to hold the Mavericks (3-5) to a season-low scoring output in a 93-71 loss, as the defending champs showed signs of tired legs after playing their sixth game in eight nights.

“It’s tough. You know, you’re playing on the road in a tough environment and they came out and made shots early,” reserve guard Jason Terry said summing up the loss. “It gave them a lot of confidence, too. They had guys making shots that ordinarily wouldn’t make those shots.

“This is our sixth game in eight days, so that was a tough stretch for us,” he added. “Once we get down in the hole like that it’s too hard to pick yourself back up when you’ve been playing that much. At the same time, it is what it is. They struck first and they were able to pull out a good win.”

The Mavericks didn’t account for Spurs sharpshooter Gary Neal, however, in the early minutes of the opening quarter and his long-range assault from behind the 3-point arc. The second-year guard’s trifecta of 3-pointers lifted the Spurs to a 19-4 run out the gates.

The Spurs’ 3-point shooting would continue to torch the Dallas defense in the period, as San Antonio hit 5-for-8 from behind the arc to open up a 31-17 lead after the first 12 minutes.

“They came out swinging,” Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said of the Spurs’ fast start. “And we were reacting instead of acting. … But, I mean, you’ve got to give them credit. They came out on fire. After that first quarter, they really didn’t shoot the ball well either and I thought we defended them well.”

“They came out early and made a run at us that we couldn’t recover from,” Terry added.

After losing veteran point guard Jason Kidd due to a lower back injury in the first period, the Mavs tried to engineer a comeback attempt without their floor general. But Matt Bonner and the Spurs’ perimeter shooters had other things in mind, continuing their barrage from the outside in the second stanza.

Meanwhile, the Mavs’ turnovers continued to pile up while the Spurs (5-2) capitalized at the other end, scoring 13 points off Dallas’ 11 giveaways to take a 55-29 advantage at the midway mark.

The Spurs only shot 44.4 percent from the floor, compared to the Mavs’ 28.9 percent through two quarters, but hit 11-for-18 from 3-point range while Dallas went 0-for-11 from deep. With Ginobili sidelined, Richard Jefferson and Bonner took over the Spurs’ scoring responsibilities, combining for 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting and 6-of-10 from three. At the other end the Mavs struggled, with Nowitzki going 1-of-7 while Terry’s nine points on 3-for-8 did little to change the scoreboard.

“Offensively, just nobody had legs. A bunch of shots were right there that could have gone for JET [Terry], myself, L.O. [Lamar Odom], a lot of guys. … Everything just seemed to come out. You know, when you have a lot of games like that, that’s gonna happen,” Nowitzki explained.

The Dallas team’s energy level was turned up a notch coming out of the locker room for the second half, but the visiting squad couldn’t translate their effort into points. Although Terry did swish in the Mavs’ first 3-point make of the night late in the third period, the team could only create a small dent in its deficit before heading into the fourth down, 66-42.

All that was left to be determined was if the Mavs would surpass their franchise record for fewest points in a game of 62 while the Spurs chased their organization’s mark for most made threes in a contest. With all reserves finishing the game, the Mavs would indeed avoid the worst scoring output in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Spurs would come up short of their franchise-best 17 made 3-pointers in a game when the final buzzer ended a lopsided Dallas defeat.

Despite hitting just 4-for-14 from the floor, Terry ended the night with a team-high 12 points. Newcomer Delonte West was the only other Maverick scorer in double figures adding 10 points on 4-for-6 from the floor while Nowitzki finished the night with six points on 3-for-11.

Off the San Antonio bench, Bonner hit 6-of-10 shots for his game-high 17 points to lead five Spurs in double figures.

Even with a 52-42 rebounding advantage in Dallas’ favor, the Mavs couldn’t overcome the Spurs’ 16-for-30 from 3-point range compared to their own 1-of-19 from deep.

“You’ve got to give them credit. They throw in 16 threes, that’s shooting the heck out of it,” Carlisle said. “Some of that is obviously we made some mistakes, but they put us in those positions. So, you’ve got to give them credit.”

San Antonio also outshot Dallas from the field on a season-worst shooting night, 39.5 percent to 35.1 percent.

“When they’re making shots and we’re not, it’s gonna be a tough and long ball game for us. Again, we’re a team that prides ourselves on getting stops defensively and then making them pay on the offensive end. That didn’t happen tonight.”

After taking Friday off to rest, the Mavs return home to face off with the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night, in a game that will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

“There are going to be some games that don’t go our fans’ way. There are going to be some nights where it is just not going to go in, but it is what it is. We just have to stay out there and get better,” forward Shawn Marion said looking ahead.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Rivalry Pack: Aside from being a season ticket holder, the only way for Mavs fans to attend either of the two Los Angeles Lakers games is through the Rivalry Pack. Tickets to the Feb.22 and March 21 games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers can be purchased as part of a three-game package that includes one (1) of the three premium games and two (2) additional regular season games.

RPL Nights: RPL Nights return for the sixth season and will feature special discounted tickets for 10 pre-selected games. Tickets normally priced $9 will be $2, $15 will be $10, $31 will be $20 and $42 will be $32.