Key plays, moments and stats for the Mavericks 120 – 109 win over the Spurs
Welcome to the first in a recurring series that will cover The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for games during the 2024-2025 season. In addition to the extensive game coverage you’ve come to expect from Mavs Moneyball, we’ll now also be giving you a look at different aspects of the game that may not show up in the stat sheet. We’ll be doing this through the lens of the positive, negative and whatever may not have been all that pretty. Without further ado, let’s get to it following the 120-109 Dallas Mavericks win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Good
Klay Thompson
Within the first five and half minutes of the game, Thompson hit his first two shots including a three, had five points, three rebounds and two steals. He ended the night with 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals while nailing six three-pointers in 26 minutes of action. Those six three-pointers broke the previous record for threes in a Mavericks debut (five).
Kyrie Irving
Watching him pick up Tre Jones full court, hound him into a near eight-second violation, then have an offensive foul call go his way when Jones tried yet again to get free using a screen, was a largely forgettable moment midway through the first quarter. Except it wasn’t. The defensive effort Kyrie showed on that play and others throughout the night bodes very well for things to come.
Naji Marshall
Marshall competently bringing up the ball and setting up the offense on numerous occasions was a welcome sight. For a team with the guard depth the Mavericks feature, having a forward with this ability should play a huge part in mitigating fatigue for both Luka and Kyrie throughout the season.
Luka Doncic (to P.J. Washington)
As the Mavericks were building a lead in the third quarter, we saw some nice examples of defense turning into offense. In one sequence, Luka drove the length of the court, stumbling toward the basket with a defender on his hip and Victor Wembanyama at the rim. Luka threw a pass backwards over his head to P.J. Washington for a three that extended the Mavericks’ lead to 14.
Luka Doncic (to Klay Thompson)
In the early part of the fourth quarter, Luka passed to Thompson at the three-point line where he was so wide open, he needed to take a quick dribble to set his rhythm before canning a three. As if it wasn’t pretty enough in and of itself, Luka had turned and headed downcourt before Thompson even released the ball, signaling that it was a sure thing on his way.
3rd quarter 3s
The Mavericks got things going from the three-point line out of the break, hitting 7-of-12 from three in the frame. After a horrid shooting start in the first half (see below), it was nice to see glimpses of what this offense can be once things start to gel.
The Bad
Tinker time
With the number of player absences during the preseason, it was obvious coach Jason Kidd was still tinkering with the lineup. 10 Mavericks players saw meaningful floor time in the first half. The only obvious rotation piece that did not play was Spencer Dinwiddie. This is game one of a long 82 game season, so it made all the sense in the world to spread the wealth and keep minutes down, but it’s unfortunate to have to use regular season games to see things that could otherwise have been vetted in the preseason.
Harrison Barnes’ shooting
Harrison Barnes shot 70% from the floor on 10 shot attempts. While his 17 points don’t immediately jump off the page, the Mavericks do need to show the lock-down defense they are capable of when an opposing player is clearly hot. Barnes got just about anything he wanted, particularly in the first half.
The Ugly
First half shooting
The Mavericks shot an abysmal 28.6% FG and 18.2% from three in the first quarter. At one stretch in the half, they missed 15 out of 17 shots. No doubt this was a result of chemistry building after Luka sat out preseason, as well as some likely nerves, but this is the object lesson of “ugly.” Had the opponent been an upper echelon team with established cohesion, the scoreboard would have been the only thing uglier.
Lazy plays
There were a few too many lazy plays sprinkled throughout this game. In one sequence, after giving up a baseline drive for a dunk, the Mavericks inbounded the ball to the Spurs. They fortunately got a stop, but immediately called timeout and likely had an unpleasant experience at the hands of Kidd.
Garbage time
Allowing a team to cut 10 points out of a 21-point lead in the garbage time moments of the fourth quarter is a regular occurrence in the NBA, but it’s still a bit frustrating. Obviously it’s called “garbage time” for a reason, but I think it’s important for a team trying to establish a defensive identity to carry that grit through to the final buzzer. This is probably a bit more of a personal pet peeve than not, but I tend to pay attention to these closing moments with the hope that players who don’t see much floor time will be displaying hustle and defense.
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