Mavs Defeat Spurs
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DALLAS — The new-look Dallas Mavericks had to sweat out guard Rajon Rondo’s debut as the San Antonio Spurs pushed them to the limit.
A comeback effort, led by guard Monta Ellis’ season-high-tying 38 points, sent the Mavericks to a 99-93 victory over the Spurs. Ellis scored 13 of his 38 in the final frame.
“I guess I just have it in my blood,” Ellis said of his clutch-time theatrics.
Rondo finished the game with six points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
“It was exciting,” Rondo said of the win. “The best part about it was that we got the win tonight. It was a tough grind game, but we fought with it, stuck with it and got the win.”
The point guard also drew four offensive fouls.
“I love Rondo,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but he did a lot of great things. He did a lot of things that most guys in that position just don’t do — rebounding, making plays, things like that.”
The Spurs played short-handed as their starting lineup consisted of Marco Belinelli, Boris Diaw, Cory Joseph, Kyle Anderson and Aron Baynes. Coming into the game, the combined total NBA starts of the last three players equaled out to 50. The Spurs had 10 players in uniform.
The Spurs needed someone to step up and Baynes was the player to oblige. The Spurs power forward asserted himself in the paint and finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’m just trying to play within the system and when you do that, good
things happen,” Baynes said of his increased workload. “I’m trying to make the most of it.”
The Mavericks came into the game scoring a league-best 110.1 points per game. The Spurs looked to challenge the Mavericks offense by implementing a zone defense early in the game. That disrupted Dallas’ high-powered offense, leading to just 36.4 percent shooting in the opening quarter.
“Well, we didn’t think we could run with them,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the loss. “We had to slow it down.”
San Antonio took advantage of their defense by turning it into efficient offense, shooting 50 percent from the field through the first 16 minutes of the game. A layup by Belinelli gave the Spurs a 33-21 lead.
Dallas battled back to tie the game at 59 with just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, but the Spurs responded with an impressive 7-0 run. They took an 80-79 lead on a free throw from forward Dirk Nowitzki with 8:56 left in the game.
While it was Rondo’s debut, Ellis continued to set the tone offensively for the team. Mavericks forward Chandler Parson asserted himself during the middle portion of the game to help keep Dallas within striking distance. He finished the game by recording his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
As the Spurs looked to be pulling away in the third quarter, Mavericks guard Devin Harris scored nine points in the period. He finished the game with 13 points.
Baynes and Belinelli led the charge for the Spurs, but San Antonio had five players score in double figures. The Spurs had a balanced scoring attack but failed to produce anything outside of playing in isolation. They had a total of 10 assists. They did go a perfect 26-for-26 from the free-throw line.
Prior to Saturday’s victory, the Mavericks had lost 10 straight and 14 of the last 16 regular-season meetings with the Spurs. The Mavs’ last previous win over the Spurs in the regular season came in Dallas on March 17, 2012. In that game, they defeated San Antonio 106-99.
