FINAL
Spurs 98, Mavericks 102
The end was thrilling and the Spurs' final effort admirable, but a a 15-point deficit with minutes to go in tonight's game proved to be much to overcome as the Spurs lost to the Mavericks, 102-98. The Silver and Black scored the final 13 points of the game, but couldn't spin that into a comeback victory.
San Antonio shot 42% from the floor compared to 48% for the Mavs, but it's the three-point game where the Spurs were massively out-gunned. The visitor made just eight of 29 attempts from beyond the arc, a 27% clip, while the home team managed to make 16 of their 40 attempts (40%).
Still, the Spurs put in a good effort against a squad that now improves to 20-10 on the season. San Antonio, meanwhile, falls to 12-18.
Up next for San Antonio is a Saturday night home against the Detroit Pistons.
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With 47 seconds left in the game, San Antonio is down by just seven points after a 10-2 run.
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More than two full minutes have passed in the fourth quarter without a point being scored, a development which isn't favorable for San Antonio, which remains down by double-digits.
With 4:35 remaining in tonight's game, Dallas leads 100-85.
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With 7:53 remaining in the game, the Spurs are in an 11-point hole and the Mavericks making their move to put victory out of reach. Dallas leads 94-83.
Third Quarter
Spurs 74, Mavericks 79
With a minute left on the clock in the third quarter, the Spurs found themselves down by 11 and facing a dire deficit to begin the final dozen minutes. A minute later, after a pair of gutsy back-to-back three-pointers from Rudy Gay, they're only down by five—the same deficit as when the quarter began.
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There have been four lead changes in the third quarter as the Spurs and Mavericks continue to match each other step-for-step in Dallas. With less than seven minutes remaining in the period, the home team leads by four.
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A 7-3 run to begin the second half of play in Dallas has the Spurs back to within one point of the Mavericks, thanks to a quick four third-quarter points from Aldridge.
Second Quarter
Spurs 47, Mavericks 52
A 10-2 run to close the half has Dallas up by five at halftime. The Mavericks are shooting 47% from the field to the Spurs' 44% mark, with the road team making only two of its 14 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half.
Aldridge and Doncic are tied for the game-high in points with 13.
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Dallas managed to close the gap early in the second quarter as the game has turned into a back-and-forth affair. This sneaky pass from Jakob Poeltl to Marco Belinelli has helped keep the Spurs in the game.
San Antonio leads, 40-38.
First Quarter
Spurs 24, Mavericks 20
Six straight points in less than 30 seconds from Patty Mills helped the Spurs steal the lead late in the first quarter, and San Antonio's first three-pointer of the game off the hands of Derrick White added another three points for good measure. After the road team played catch-up for most of the opening dozen minutes, they enter the second quarter up by four points.
Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge both tallied six points in the first quarter, with Dallas superstar Luka Doncic's 10 points leading all players early.
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Dallas remains ahead by five points as we near the end of the first quarter, but San Antonio has looked lethargic on offense in the early going.
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It's a low-scoring start to tonight's game in Dallas as both squads have combined to sink just six of their first 19 shots from the field. A pair of early three-pointers has the Mavs out in front, 10-5, with 6:45 to go in the opening quarter.
Pregame
San Antonio, which has alternated victories and losses over its last six games, will be looking to gather momentum and start a winning streak as they prepare to face the Mavericks in Dallas on Thursday night.
The Spurs dismantled the Grizzlies in a 145-115 win Monday, a game that saw LaMarcus Aldridge explode for a season-high 40 points.
"He and DeMar (DeRozan) led the way. It was great to see the whole team jump in," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the matchup.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are coming off a close loss to the Raptors in Toronto; both San Antonio and Dallas are 6-4 over their last 10 games, but the latter team is nine games over .500 while the Silver and Black are five games under .500 and occupying a middling spot in the Western Conference standings.
Thursday's game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Follow along here for live updates.
