Mavericks squash Spurs 12-game winning streak with fourth quarter spurt. Shawn Marion (above) led the way, scoring 11 points in the final period. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Squaring off for the first time this season, the Dallas Mavericks (11-4) and San Antonio Spurs (13-2) put on quite a show Friday night in San Antonio. Neither team led by more than six points until the Mavericks went on a 14-4 run, after a Manu Ginobili 3-pointer tied the game at 86, to take a 100-90 lead with under a minute left in regulation.
Dallas forced four turnovers during the stretch and held the Spurs without a field goal from the 4:45 mark until Ginobili - who had a game-high 31 points - made a layup with 42 seconds left in the contest. The Mavericks, on the other hand, closed out the game by making six straight baskets to hand the team with the best record in basketball only their second defeat all season, and first since the month of October.
"The last few games we were executing great down the stretch and making shots, but today they did," Ginobili said. "It was pretty clear they made all the shots they needed and we didn't."
Dirk Nowitzki led a balanced attack on the offensive end with a balanced effort of his own, shooting a lights out 12 of 14 from the floor (2-2 on 3's) for a team-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and a season-high five assists.
"Offensively, there were times in the past where we would force-feed the ball to me," Nowitzki said. "But we haven't done that the last couple of games. We kept moving the rock."
Dallas worked the ball around enough for four Mavericks to notch at least five assists, allowing five to score in double-figures and Dallas to shoot 52.7 percent from the field as a team. Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler contributed 19 points apiece, and each played an integral role in a frenzied fourth quarter.
Chandler entered the game with the game tied at 86 and (paired with Marion) spearheaded the game-sealing run with some tough play on the inside.
The duo of Marion and Chandler combined to score 10 of the Mavs final 17 points, attacking the basket to either get an easy bucket or shoot two at the free throw line. The perimeter defense of Marion (who was put on Ginobili during crunch time) and the inside presence of Chandler (who held Duncan scoreless) combined to give San Antonio fits on that side of the floor as well; holding the Spurs to only eight points after the 5:16 mark of the fourth.
The Mavericks have now won three games in the last four nights, four straight overall, and in back-to-back games used a huge fourth quarter run to seal the win. It appears as though this team is healthy and clicking on all cylinders to close out the month of November, but another stiff test awaits them at home Saturday night.
What's Next
The Miami Heat come to Dallas Saturday night as the Mavericks conclude their brutal, four games in five nights stretch against LeBron James and Miami Thrice. The Heat are 9-7 this season, having just snapped a three-game losing streak with a 99-90 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night.
I'll be on site to cover the game and be your eyes and ears from behind the scenes at the AAC.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. central time.
News and Notes:
- Brendan Haywood was suspended for Friday's game against the Spurs by the team due to a code of conduct violation. No word on what he did (or didn't) do, but Alexis Ajinca and Ian Mahinmi filled his role as the backup center -combing to score three points and grabbing seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Mahinmi even made some noise in crunch time, swatting a Tony Parker attempt in the lane, throwing down a ferocious slam and grabbing two rebounds in the fourth quarter.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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