The San Antonio Spurs (28-8) defeated their in state rival Dallas Mavericks (20-16) 112-92 in a blowout win at a sold-out AT&T Center on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
The Spurs, coming off a fresh overtime victory the previous night against Memphis, had a spring in their step throughout and managed to dictate the pace of the game without regulars Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and not think about it,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said when asked about the grind of back-to-back games. “But we played great, had good energy, and played great defense. It was a great win for us especially without Manu and Tiago, everybody stepped up.”
Parker had 14 of his 25 points in the third quarter, leading the Spurs to their largest lead of the night and ultimately putting the game away before going into the fourth quarter.
“My teammates set some great picks for me and I was able to be aggressive and make some shots tonight,” Parker said about his third quarter performance.
The Mavericks came into the game averaging 103.1 points per game; with star man Dirk Nowitzki averaging 21.1 points per game.
But San Antonio managed to hold Dallas to just 90 points, while also holding Nowitzki to just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.
“I thought they played very well. Overall I thought the defense was real solid for us tonight, I think it lead the way,” said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich after the game.
Tim Duncan ended the game with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks. The Duncan Nowitzki matchup proved to be a disappointment with Duncan out playing the Mavs forward.
With the game put away going into the fourth quarter, the Spurs had the chance to play their reserves while resting key players.
Patty Mills, Matt Bonner, Marco Belinelli, and Cory Joseph combined to go 7-of-10 from three in the fourth quarter. The four Spurs players combined for 40 points off the bench.
“I thought it was a real team effort. You look at Matt Bonner and Cory Joseph; everybody came in there at the end hustling, rebounding, and playing good team defense,” Popovich said after victory.
The Spurs can now look forward to three days of rest before they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (17-18) on Sunday, Jan. 12 at the AT&T Center.
