DALLAS, Texas — A depleted Dallas Mavericks roster stayed close for three quarters Saturday night before the San Antonio Spurs pulled away for a 122-106 win in the Mavericks’ home opener at American Airlines Center.
Dallas was missing both of its headliners. Cooper Flagg has a mild shoulder sprain from Friday’s win at Indiana and will be re-evaluated next week, while Kyrie Irving sat out the second game of a back-to-back as the team eases him back from his ACL injury.
Rookie Sergio de Larrea filled the gap off the bench, leading Dallas with 21 points while hitting 3 of 4 from deep, and added 5 rebounds and 4 assists in his first real minutes of the season. P.J. Washington scored 12 to lead the starters.
The Mavericks erased a 14-point third-quarter deficit and even grabbed an 85-84 lead late in the period. San Antonio answered with an 11-0 burst early in the fourth and won the quarter 30-17.
Victor Wembanyama finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Dylan Harper scored 22 for the Spurs, who earned their first win of the season. San Antonio also held a 25-10 edge in second-chance points.
Naji Marshall got the start at point guard and kept Dallas level early with 9 points in the opening quarter. With his two top creators out, head coach Dusty May leaned on de Larrea, the 25th overall pick, who scored 11 in the second quarter alone, mostly on a soft floater. Marcus Sasser joined him in sparking the third-quarter comeback.
Daniel Gafford’s layup to open the fourth cut the gap to one before the Spurs took over, eventually stretching the margin to 15, their biggest of the night. Inside, Dallas piled up 46 first-half points in the paint, a franchise best for a half in the play-by-play era.
De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle chipped in 19 points apiece for San Antonio, which avoided its first 0-3 start since the 2008-09 season. Dallas fell to 1-2 on the young season.
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