San Antonio, 0-2 and stung by a block
The San Antonio Spurs reached the NBA Finals last season. They have not won a game this one. Saturday night in Dallas, on the second night of a back-to-back for both teams, they try to fix that against a Mavericks side playing its home opener.
Friday’s 114-110 loss at Houston ended on a play the Spurs will replay for a while: Amen Thompson blocked a Victor Wembanyama layup that would have won it. Wembanyama still had a bounce-back night, with a team-high 25 points and 13 rebounds after shooting 1-for-13 in the opener against Oklahoma City. Dylan Harper added 20, De’Aaron Fox 19 and Stephon Castle 15.
“We have a lot of improvement to be had,” coach Mitch Johnson said, adding that both defeats fell well short of the team’s standard.
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Dallas without its young star
The Mavericks are 1-1 after a 121-105 win over Indiana on Friday. They led by 37 in the second quarter, and Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 24 before fouling out for the first time in 781 regular-season games. P.J. Washington had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Max Christie scored 16 and Naji Marshall 15. It was also the first NBA win for coach Dusty May, who was hired away from defending NCAA champion Michigan.
The cost came late in the half. Cooper Flagg, who had 14 points, left after a flagrant foul with left shoulder soreness, and Dallas will play without him on Saturday. May said the forward “will be evaluated” over the next couple of days.
“We’ve been putting an emphasis on not making excuses because we’re a new group,” Irving said.
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