Summer League Report: Crowder, Mavs escape Spurs in OT; leave Vegas 4-1
Earl K. Sneed reports from Las Vegas, where the Dallas Mavericks concluded play in the Summer League with a 4-1 record after rookie Jae Crowder led the team to an overtime win over San Antonio.
Summer League Report: Crowder, Mavs escape Spurs in OT; leave Vegas 4-1
LAS VEGAS -- It was perhaps fitting that the Dallas Mavericks’ Summer League squad finished play against division and in-state rival San Antonio on Saturday.
And just like the Mavericks hope to do when the regular season comes along, the collection of roster hopefuls looked to get the upper hand on their neighbors to the south while trying to complete the five-game schedule on a high note.
Typical of the Mavs-Spurs rivalry, the game would become a tightly-contested showdown that would extend into an extra period after the Mavericks built a large lead in the early going. Still, with rookie Jae Crowder stepping up and continuing his impressive play this summer, the Mavericks concluded the tournament with a 4-1 mark after seizing an 82-76 overtime victory.
Picking up where they left off at after a 78-65 win over New Orleans one night prior, the Mavs got off to a quick start as Crowder continued to turn heads with his ability to knock down shots from the outside. And led by Crowder's eight points on 2-of-5 shooting, the Mavs took a 27-21 edge into the second period.
Following his fellow rookie’s lead, big man Bernard James gave the Mavs a lift early in the second after third-year guard Dominique Jones was ruled out for the remainder of the game with upper back tightness. And even without their leader, the Mavs extended their lead to double digits before entering the halftime intermission comfortably ahead by a 42-31 margin.
With no Jones to run the show, the Mavs’ offense would become stagnant in third period. That would only assist the Spurs’ comeback efforts, cutting their deficit to single digits before taking their first lead of the game at 49-48. And after leading by as much as 13 in the first half, the Mavericks found themselves on the downside of a 54-50 scoreboard.
“I think we got a little bit laxed when they made their run on the defensive end,” Mavs defensive coordinator and summer league coach Monte Mathis admitted after the game. “I don’t know if we ran out of gas from this whole week and a half, but they got some easy buckets on us. But we kept playing and when it got down to the fourth quarter we stepped up and started guarding a little bit better.”
Attempting to match Spurs guard Cory Joseph bucket for bucket, Crowder tried to lift his team down the stretch while the Mavs regained the lead. But Joseph and the Spurs would remain within an arm’s reach, tying the game at 74-all before Micah Downs' score to put the Mavs up two with 12.3 ticks left on the clock for San Antonio to answer.
The Mavs weren’t out of the woods yet, however, after L.D. Williams’ 2-for-2 trip to the foul line once again evened things up. With the opportunity to play the role of hero, Crowder rose for a mid-range jumper at the other end of the floor. But the rookie’s shot would rim out, sending the game into the extra period.
An opening possession backdoor feed from Drew Gordon to Justin Dentmon would give the Mavs the edge early in overtime. Crowder then had a chance to redeem himself, sinking two free throws to go up four. That would prove to be all the Mavs would need, getting two more free throws from Dentmon to pad the margin after locking down on the defensive end as the game ticked to the final buzzer.
“We made plays down the stretch, especially in the overtime. … The guys executed and then we got a couple of stops at the other end,” Mathis simply said of the play late.
With Jones sidelined, Crowder assumed the scoring duties, posting a game-high 21 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 3-of-4 from behind the arc to go along with six rebounds.
“The one word I think of when I think of Jae Crowder is ‘winner.’ That’s the one thing I think of,” Mathis said with high praise for the first-year stud. “The effort, the competing, he’s just a winner and it’s contagious. Guys like that on your team are contagious for everybody else to pick up on.”
Dentmon was the only other Mav in double figures, scoring 16 points on 4-of-11 from the field and snagging down seven boards to boot. Meanwhile, James occupied the middle, scoring nine points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots on the defensive end.
The Mavericks also overcame being outshot by the Spurs, 43.9 percent to 36.4 percent, by finishing the game with a 39-36 rebounding edge.
The front office will now look to fill out a roster that stands at 13 before the start of training camp in the fall, after Crowder, first-round acquisition Jared Cunningham and free-agent guard O.J. Mayo all signed their contracts in the past few days.
