San Antonio Spurs beat Dallas Mavericks 122-106 as Victor Wembanyama scores 23 with four blocks for a first win

The San Antonio Spurs won for the first time this season on Saturday, October 24, beating the Dallas Mavericks 122-106 at American Airlines Center after pulling away with a 30-17 fourth quarter. Victor Wembanyama had 23 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in under 29 minutes, and San Antonio outscored Dallas by 32 while he was on the floor.

Both teams finished the night 1-2, and both were on the second half of a back-to-back. The Spurs had lost 114-110 to the Houston Rockets in Austin on Friday, while the Mavericks had won 121-105 at Indiana. Dallas spoiled its own home opener without its two lead creators: Cooper Flagg sat with a mild left shoulder sprain, and Kyrie Irving was held out to manage his left knee.

How the game turned

The first quarter was a track meet, 39-37 San Antonio. The Mavericks then went in front by six midway through the second quarter after a Daniel Gafford putback, and Mitch Johnson called timeout. The first play out of it had Stephon Castle catching the ball at the elbow and lobbing to Wembanyama for a reverse dunk, and the Spurs closed the half on a 25-11 run to lead 68-60.

San Antonio stretched that to 14 in the third quarter before Dallas came back with small lineups built around its bench. Marcus Sasser and rookie Sergio De Larrea drove a 13-2 burst that put the Mavericks up 85-84, but the Spurs answered and carried a 92-89 lead into the fourth. Rookie center Tarris Reed Jr. opened that period in Wembanyama’s place, scored the first basket of his career, and by the time he came out 3:38 later the lead was 103-94. It grew to 23, the biggest of the night, and San Antonio led for 38:33 in all.

The difference showed in the details Johnson had been asking about all week. The Spurs had 34 assists against 12 turnovers, took 15 offensive rebounds to Dallas’s eight, scored 25 second-chance points and came up with 12 steals. “Effort goes a long way,” Johnson said afterward, adding that his team has not been consistent enough and needs to raise the floor on its habits.

The leading performers

San Antonio’s three-guard start gave Wembanyama plenty of help. Dylan Harper scored 22 on 9-of-18 shooting with three 3-pointers. De’Aaron Fox had 19 points, nine assists and three steals and finished plus-25, and Castle added 19 points, eight assists and three steals. Julian Champagnie gave the Spurs 12 points, three made threes and three blocks off the bench without a turnover, and Devin Vassell had 11 points and six assists.

For Dallas, De Larrea, the 25th pick in June, played 33:02 and led the team with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 3 of 4 from deep. Gafford had 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks, while P.J. Washington and Sasser each scored 12. The Mavericks’ reserves outscored San Antonio’s 56-28, but the starters struggled: Max Christie went 2 of 9 and finished minus-22, and Naji Marshall left in the third quarter and did not return. Dallas shot 51 percent from the field to San Antonio’s 47 and still lost, because it turned the ball over 18 times. Dusty May said his team “probably ran out of gas late” and needs a tighter plan for breaking the Spurs’ ball pressure.

What comes next

The Spurs return home to host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, October 27, at 8 p.m. ET (Kings-Spurs Game Center). The Mavericks visit Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat on Monday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET (Mavericks-Heat Game Center), with Flagg due to be reevaluated next week. The two Texas rivals meet again on November 4 in San Antonio. The full box score is in the Spurs-Mavericks Game Center.