San Antonio made 25 free throws before halftime. Dallas made five. That was the first major imbalance in the Mavericks’ 112-111 loss Wednesday at Frost Bank Center, and it put Dallas in a hole it could climb out of only temporarily.
The Mavericks did not trail by 17 forever. They tied San Antonio at 100 with 6:05 left, then moved ahead 103-100 on P.J. Washington’s three at 5:38. But the recovery required Dallas to win the second half 60-44 after losing the first 24 minutes 68-51. A team can repair that kind of deficit, as Dallas nearly did, without making the original expense disappear.
The early free throws were points, not a ruling about the officiating. San Antonio converted 25 of 27 before the break; Dallas went 5-for-8. Victor Wembanyama made all 15 of his attempts in that stretch and entered halftime with 29 points.
The Spurs had already built enough room for their superstar to control the interior while Dallas tried to find a less expensive route back into the game.
Dallas made a better return from its foul-line opportunities after the break. Coach Dusty May said the team made better choices after halftime and challenged Wembanyama at the rim less often. Dallas went 14-for-18 at the stripe in the second half, while San Antonio finished 8-for-12.
The Mavericks got more chances and converted most of them; the problem was that San Antonio had banked too many early points before that correction arrived.
There was another reason the margin was so difficult to erase. Dallas made 14 of 37 three-pointers, producing a 27-point advantage from beyond the arc. San Antonio made only five of 36.
That kind of perimeter gap usually gives a team a comfortable path to victory. Instead, the Spurs made 32 of 59 two-point shots and scored 62 points in the paint. Dallas made 25 of 65 two-point attempts and had 40 paint points.
Wembanyama supplied the difference inside, finishing with 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks. He shot 16-for-28 overall, including 15-for-20 on two-point attempts, and San Antonio ended with 33 made free throws to Dallas’ 19. The Spurs also collected 22 offensive rebounds, four more than Dallas.
Those extra possessions did not automatically become points, but they repeatedly gave San Antonio another chance to make the size gap matter.
Dallas’ comeback had a distinctly different shape. Naji Marshall scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, making three of his three-point attempts in the period. His shot at 9:46 cut San Antonio’s lead to 94-87; another at 8:17 made it 94-92.
