The Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will carry three-game losing streaks into their clash on Saturday night in Dallas.
Dallas is coming off another game against a Lone Star State rival, a 122-96 setback to the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 20 points off the bench, Dexter Dennis added 18, and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Richaun Holmes contributed 16 apiece for Dallas.
The good news for the Mavericks is that star guard Luka Doncic will be back in the lineup on Saturday.
The Mavericks were a walking M.A.S.H. unit in Houston, playing without Doncic (left quad strain), Dante Exum (leg contusion), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), Maxi Kleber (toe dislocation) and Dereck Lively II (left ankle sprain). Exum also will return to the lineup on Saturday.
Dallas has struggled since guard Kyrie Irving was forced to the sideline with a heel contusion he sustained at Portland on Dec. 8. He has missed the ensuing seven games, with the Mavericks posting a 3-4 record in his absence.
Doncic, who is averaging 40.4 minutes per game in December, is starting to wear down from the load.
“He’s tired,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said about Doncic. “He works his (expletive) off, and he’s supposed to be tired. He’s seeing double-teams every night and creating shots for everyone on the floor. He’s the one causing the problem for (defenders) on the floor.
“The issue is who can cause a problem when (Doncic) is off the floor, and right now that’s what we’re looking for — but it’s hard. No one feels bad for us that we’re shorthanded.”
The Spurs head to Dallas to wrap up a three-game road trip after dropping a 114-95 decision in Chicago on Thursday. Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 21 points while Zach Collins added 14, Malaki Branham had 13 and Keldon Johnson scored 11.
“We had three quarters of pretty good defense,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said afterward. “We held them (the Bulls) to 25 (points in the third) and they broke it open in the fourth (quarter). You got to score and we’ve had a problem with scoring all year basically.”
Rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field in just 22 minutes of court time, about eight minutes less than his average per game. Wembanyama, who missed the first game of the road trip in Milwaukee with a sore right ankle, was on a “minutes restriction” against the Bulls, Popovich said.
“Definitely need to score the ball,” Vassell said. “Just being a young team, we’ve got to be able to know each other’s strengths. Wemby is (7-foot-5) – we’ve got to see him. He’s down there whether he’s posting up or he’s sealing early, we got to see him.”
San Antonio has lost 21 of its past 22 contests and is mired in last place in the Western Conference.
The Mavericks beat San Antonio 126-119 in the teams’ season-opener on Oct. 25 in the Alamo City.
–Field Level Media
