MAVERICKS (7-4) at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (4-7)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: AT&T Center, San Antonio.
TV: Bally Sports Southwest.
Radio: The Eagle 97.1 FM; Univision Zona MX 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: It’s the third meeting between the teams in the first 12 games of the season. The Mavericks have won the first two, but had to work hard for both, winning by five points in Dallas and by a single point in San Antonio last week . . . They haven’t lost two in a row yet this season, so they’ll try to keep that streak going after getting knocked off 117-107 on Wednesday at Chicago in the opener of this quick, two-game trip . . . Maxi Kleber (left oblique strain) once again will be out and is expected to be re-evaluated soon . . . Luka Dončić has had some magical moments already this season, but overall, his shooting is not up to his lofty standards. He was 6-of-18 at Chicago and is shooting 43.3 percent for the season. From 3-point range, he is 24-of-84 (28.6 percent) . . . Kristaps Porzingis is coming off his best statistical game of the season (22 points, 12 rebounds), but it did not translate to a victory. Interestingly, the Mavericks are 12-5 all time when Porzingis gets at least 25 points and 10 rebounds . . . Jalen Brunson freely admits he likes playing in San Antonio and always has ever since he and the Villanova Wildcats won the national championship on the Alamodome court in 2018. So far in two meetings against the Spurs this season (one at home, one in San Antonio), Brunson leads the Mavericks at 25 points per game to go with 8.5 rebounds and 4 assists . . . The Mavericks had crept up to No. 12 in overall defensive rating, but their showing on Wednesday dropped them to 17th in the NBA . . . We don’t want to harp on rebounding, but in the Mavericks’ seven victories they have won the board game five times. In their four losses, they have been outrebounded every time.
About the Spurs: They are coming off their most impressive game of the season, a 136-117 spanking of the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. In that win, they had seven players with at least 15 points, led by Dejounte Murray with 26 points. Thaddeus Young had 17 points, eight assists and five rebounds in just 24 minutes off the bench . . . The Spurs are having to do it with small lineups these days. Jakob Poetl has been out since a November adhering to health and safety protocols . . . The Spurs, with their smaller lineups, have been trying to play at a blistering pace. They have an average of 101.8 possessions per 48 minutes, which ranks them fourth in the league . . . There are tradeoffs with the smaller, faster lineups, though. While the Spurs are second in the NBA in assists at more than 28 per game, they are in the bottom 10 in rebounding, giving up three more caroms per game than they collect . . . Murray has established himself as their offensive backbone, averaging 18.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.9 rebounds. And he has one more triple double this season than Luka has (zero) . . . But the Spurs also have gotten a nice guiding influence by 33-year-old Thad Young, who was acquired in the offseason as part of the DeMar DeRozan trade. Young has averaged 13 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the last three games.
Twitter: @ESefko
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