San Antonio Spurs at Mavericks
(7:30 p.m. Wednesday, American Airlines Center, Dallas)
TV: Fox Sports Southwest, NBA TV
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM (Univision 1270 AM, Spanish)
About the Mavericks (18-16): OK, things get serious now. The Mavericks won nine of their last 11 games before the All-Star break. But now, they have work to do. After a rough first half, they managed to get out of it with a winning record and are eighth in the Western Conference. Remember, they were 14th at one point. So they have put themselves in position to make headway if they take care of business . . . The first few games after the break are no bargain. They play three games in four days as the beginning of a seven-game, 12-day stretch, with six of those seven games coming against teams above them in the West standings. They start that grind with an important Southwest Division matchup . . . They finished the first half of the season by holding three of their final six opponents under 100 points. Plus, they spent the past six days basking in an 87-78 victory over Oklahoma City . . . In that game, Trey Burke made a re-emergence with nine points off the bench as Jalen Brunson was in the starting lineup because of Luka Dončić’s stiff back. Burke had nine points and six assists in 22 minutes. It was the fourth game in a row when Burke has played meaningful minutes after falling out of the rotation for some time. He’s averaged 8.8 points in those recent four games . . . Based on his All-Star outing of 32 minutes, Luka appears to be good to go with his balky back.
About the Spurs (18-14): They have been impacted by COVID-19 matters as much as any team. Nobody has played fewer games than they have going into the second half of the schedule . . . They start the second half by playing six of seven on the road. Then they return to San Antonio to play nine (yes, nine) consecutive home games . . . They had three players (Rudy Gay, rookie Devin Vassell and Derrick White) miss their last game before the break because they were in the health and safety protocol program. But all could return against the Mavs . . . The Spurs are led by DeMar DeRozan at 20 points, 7.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. They also get 15.8 points, 7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game out of point guards Dejounte Murray . . . The key to the Spurs’ success? They are in the top 10 in defensive efficiency, allowing barely 110 points per 100 possessions. They also are one of the few teams better than the Mavericks at holding on to the ball, committing just 11.2 turnovers per game, lowest in the league . . . They also don’t send opponents to the free-throw line very often. Foes are shooting barely 19 free throws per game against them, fifth fewest in the league . . . Australian Patty Mills remains one of the most lethal 3-point threats in the league at 40.2 percent. He’s averaging better than 13 points and has come off the bench in every game.
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment