The Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 101-94 on Tuesday night. This was the first game of a back to back for the Spurs, as they play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. For the Mavericks, it was the first of a home-and-home with the Spurs, as they play in San Antonio on Friday night.
Monta Ellis stole the show, scoring 38 points and dishing out five assists. This was a strong game for him, as on Sunday he went 4 of 22 from the field versus the Phoenix Suns. After many questioned his attitude and recent play, he responded with one of his best games of the season.
Another big storyline for the Mavericks tonight was Dirk Nowitzki’s night. Not many people expected him to grab more rebounds than Tyson Chandler this game, as he grabbed his 10,000th career rebound. His wife also gave birth to a second child on Tuesday morning, so he was playing with lots of emotion. He was struggling in the first half, but was firing on all cylinders (as were the Mavs as a whole) in the second half. It goes to show that Dirk and Monta really dictate how the Mavericks will perform any given night.
As for the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard had a very good defensive night and scored 19 points to go along with nine rebounds and four steals. Many of the Spurs starters were rested down the stretch, which was due to Gregg Popovich’s micromanaging minutes on back to backs. Only Kawhi Leonard played more than 30 minutes, and Tim Duncan played just 24 minutes.
A big key for the Mavs’ victory was Rajon Rondo. He shut down Tony Parker, who went 3 for 11 with eight points and four turnovers, and Rondo made up for his lack of scoring with five assists and nine rebounds. His defense was very good tonight, and a big factor in getting the win, and he played well with the high tempo offense that the Mavs occasionally went to.
The next meeting between these two teams is the last of the season and will take place on Friday, March 27th, at 8:30 Eastern Standard Time at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.