Victor Wembanyama went 1-for-8 from three Wednesday night and still scored 52 points. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-111 at Frost Bank Center because Wembanyama kept turning the game toward the rim, where Dallas never quite managed to end a possession.
That is the central irritation for Dallas. The Mavericks made 14 of 37 threes, while San Antonio managed only 5 of 36. Dallas owned a 27-point edge from behind the arc and still lost. Wembanyama’s 16-for-28 shooting, 19-for-23 free-throw performance and 24 rebounds supplied the explanation: the Spurs found 64 points on two-point attempts, Dallas found 50, and San Antonio reached the line 39 times.
Wembanyama produced 15 of those Spurs two-point baskets and nine offensive rebounds. His outside shot was a liability on the stat sheet. His interior presence was the game’s organizing force.
San Antonio’s other players combined to shoot 21-for-67 from the field and 4-for-28 from three, so this was hardly a balanced offensive evening. It was a giant individual rescue operation, with enough help from Dylan Harper’s 21 points and Stephon Castle’s 17 to keep the rescue from becoming impossible.
Dallas did more than hang around. It trailed by 19, then won the second half 60-44. Cooper Flagg went 1-for-11 before halftime and recovered to shoot 6-for-8 afterward. Naji Marshall supplied thirteen fourth-quarter points, making all three of his threes in the period. P.J. Washington added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
At 5:38 of the fourth, Washington connected from 24 feet to put Dallas in front 103-100, its first lead since the opening quarter. Eighteen seconds later, Wembanyama made his lone three of the night to pull San Antonio even. That was an important answer, but it was not the shot that defined his night.
Harper’s driving layup at 4:31 gave the Spurs a 105-103 advantage, and Wembanyama’s layup at 3:15 made it 107-104. Dallas could win stretches from distance; San Antonio kept finding points in tighter spaces.
The first of Wembanyama’s decisive putbacks came after Flagg’s basket brought Dallas within 107-106 at 2:54. Castle missed a three, Wembanyama secured the offensive rebound and scored at 2:39, restoring a 109-106 Spurs lead.
Kyrie Irving answered with a two-pointer, but the Mavericks then missed a chance to seize the game when Wembanyama missed both free throws at 2:10 and Irving missed a three at 1:58.
Dallas created another opening at 1:49. Washington blocked Harper’s two-foot running layup, a clean defensive intervention that should have completed the stop. Wembanyama grabbed the rebound, however, and scored on the tip at 1:47, extending San Antonio’s lead to 111-108. The block was good. The possession still belonged to Wembanyama.
