San Antonio Spurs (62-20) beat Dallas Mavericks (25-56) 139-120 at home on Friday, April 10 in a shootout, with the two teams combining for 259 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs struck first, taking the opening quarter 37-26 and a 11-point lead after one. The Mavericks cut into the deficit with a 39-31 second quarter, though the Spurs still led by 3 at halftime.
The Spurs won the third 40-28 to create some separation, taking a 15-point lead into the fourth. The Spurs took the fourth 31-27; the Spurs finished the job for a 139-120 regulation win.
What decided it
The Spurs made 28.3 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 15.3 for the Mavericks. The Spurs grabbed 38.2% of their own misses, while the Mavericks recovered 28.6%. The points at the line gave them room for error elsewhere.
The Mavericks did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 7 against 9.9. The Spurs made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 100 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 138.8 points per 100 possessions to 119.9 for the Mavericks.
The Spurs' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 47-32.
Who made the difference
Victor Wembanyama was the game's biggest individual force for SAS: 40 pts, 13 reb, 5 ast on 14-23 shooting. His Game Score of 38.1 led everyone. His team was +10 with him on the floor.
Cooper Flagg led the Mavericks with 33 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast on 13-25 shooting, good for a 24 Game Score.
Victor Wembanyama (40 pts, 13 reb, 5 ast) and De'Aaron Fox (18 pts, 1 reb, 10 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Spurs about a 95% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, San Antonio Spurs lead 4-3.
The Spurs are now 62-20, and the Mavericks are 25-56. The Spurs last five before this game: W-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.