Luka Doncic had 36 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in Dallas’ win over San Antonio on Jan. 22.
Spurs (18-14) at Mavericks (18-16)
• The Mavericks headed into the All-Star break having won three straight and nine of their last 11 games. During that 11-game stretch, Luka Doncic averaged 31.7 points, 8.0 assists and 7.6 rebounds, while Kristaps Porzingis added 21 points and 8.6 rebounds while appearing in eight games. Dallas has won four of the last five meetings between these teams — the same amount of wins the Mavs had in the previous 29 meetings with the Spurs dating back to March 23, 2012.
• The Mavericks won the first meeting with the Spurs, 122-117 on Jan. 22 in San Antonio, behind a near triple-double from Luka Doncic (36 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds) and 21 points apiece from Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Mavericks are 8-5 this season when Doncic scores at least 30 points. In 3:53 of matchup time against Lonnie Walker (33.5% of Doncic’s offensive matchup time), Doncic scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, 1-for-1 on 3-pointers and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
• The Spurs lost the first meeting despite getting a combined 55 points from DeMar DeRozan (29) and LaMarcus Aldridge (26) — the highest-scoring game of the season for the duo. This was the only game this season that the Spurs lost when DeRozan scored at least 24 points (8-1).
• The Spurs are 9-4 on the road so far this season –the third-best road record in the NBA. The Spurs have identical 51.7% effective field goal percentages at home and on the road. The two biggest differences come in turnover percentage (the Spurs lead the league at just 10.3% on the road) and defensive efficiency (the Spurs defense allows 4.3 fewer points per 100 possessions on the road).
• Eighty-seven percent (87%) of DeMar DeRozan’s field goal attempts come on 2-pointers, which is the second-highest percentage among the 83 guards that attempt at least 10 shots per game behind Philly’s Ben Simmons (97.9%). DeRozan’s teammate Dejounte Murray ranks ninth on the list with 76.9% of his shots coming on 2-point attempts. San Antonio ranks fourth in the league with 66.6% of its shots coming on 2-pointers; Dallas ranks 24th at 56.9%.
