luka doncic Had 28 points and 10 rebounds, clay thompson Added 22 points in his Dallas debut as Mavericks beat San Antonio Spurs 120-109 in the opener for both teams Thursday night.
kyrie irving Had 15 points for the defending Western Conference champions, who got eight assists from Doncic and seven rebounds from Thompson.
Victor Wembanyama The young French phenom shot just 5 of 18 from the field for 17 points to begin his second year with the Spurs. Jeremy Sochan And Julian Champagnie Each scored 18 runs.
takeaway
Spurs: Thompson’s first game with the Mavericks was a headliner, but chris paul’s San Antonio’s debut for its 20th season was an important moment for the Spurs in the development of a young team looking to end a five-season playoff drought. The offense seemed to struggle, and Paul’s only points came on a 3 in the third quarter. But the point guard’s long-term value showed with eight assists and seven rebounds.
Mavericks: Dallas is talking defense with its star offensive trio of Doncic, Irving and Thompson. The third quarter featured a brief showdown with three consecutive San Antonio turnovers. Thompson stole the first, Irving stole the next two. However, Dallas only scored two points.
important moment
The Mavericks took their largest lead at 69–55 in the third quarter when Doncic was in heavy traffic under the basket and fired a layup. the blind passed over his head To PJ Washington Jr. for the open 3.
key data
Dallas came back hot from long range in the second half. The Mavs were 13 of 18 on 3s after the break after finishing the first half 6 of 23.
Ahead
The Spurs play their first consecutive home games against Houston on Saturday. The Mavericks will play their first game in Phoenix on Saturday.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
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