Field Level Media
Mar 12, 2019
DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his team-high 33 points in the first quarter and LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 of his 28 in the third to lead the visiting San Antonio Spurs to a 112-105 victory over the scuffling Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Derrick White added 23 points, making 10 of 16 shots and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, plus seven assists, and Davis Bertans dropped three 3-pointers, including two big ones in the fourth quarter. San Antonio, which shot 52.4 percent for the game, picked up its 40th win of the season and ran its win streak to a season-best six games.
Dallas managed to claw and stay close throughout but lost for a sixth consecutive game as rookie Luka Doncic, playing with a sore right knee, was limited to 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting. He was 1 of 7 from deep, a frustrating 1 of 9 from the free-throw line and had nine of the Mavericks' 14 turnovers.
Dallas' other rookie guard, second-round pick Jalen Brunson, kept the team within striking distance most of the game with a career-high 34 points on an efficient 12-of-16 shooting, including 3 of 6 from long range. Dwight Powell scored 20, 14 coming in the second half.
Brunson joined Doncic with 30-point games this season, the first time Dallas has had two rookies do that since 1982, when Mark Aguirre and Jay Vincent accomplished the feat.
Three times late in the fourth quarter Dallas got within three points, including 97-94, when Bertans responded with a dagger 3-pointer for the Spurs. The Mavericks once again came back, getting within 102-99 before DeRozan and White each hit baskets to return San Antonio to a comfortable margin.
Bertans, who finished with 11 points off the bench, was the only other Spurs player outside of DeRozan, Aldridge and White to score in double figures. Devin Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for the Mavericks.
--Field Level Media