Mavericks use dominant second half to beat Spurs in season opener

The Dallas Mavericks began their regular season on Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center, their first game in a long time on their way back to the NBA Finals.

It was an offseason full of excitement as Dallas brought in future Hall of Famer and all-time great sharpshooter Klay Thompson and brought in some key additions. San Antonio, meanwhile, has retooled around budding superstar Victor Wembanyama and added Chris Paul and former Maverick Harrison Barnes.

Dallas started Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Thompson, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, while San Antonio started Paul, Julian Champagnie, Barnes, Sochan and Wembanyama.

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San Antonio started the game with two threes from Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan, but Sochan was someone Dallas really wanted to shoot threes. Klay Thompson got off to a much better start than last season, scoring his first shot of the game off an assist from Luka Doncic. A few plays later, he hit a three-pointer off an inbounds to give Dallas its first lead of the game, 12-10.

Harrison Barnes started the game red hot, hitting his first five shots to give San Antonio a 20-15 lead. A dunk late in the quarter by Dereck Lively II tied the game again at 20-0, but offensively it was an ugly start for both teams: The Spurs turned the ball over eight times and Dallas shot just 8/27 in the first period. San Antonio took a 22-20 lead in the second quarter after Wembanyama made the game's first basket, a layup under Lively.

The second quarter wasn't much better offensively. Doncic started the game 1/8 and even missed a few layups through contact that we're all used to hitting. The Mavs were just 3/13 overall early in the second period. A bouncing three-pointer from Zach Collins gave the Spurs a 33-28 lead midway through the half.

Jaden Hardy was able to give them some much-needed offense by firing three shots from long range in the half, having just signed his contract extension. This stabilized the team, but they were unable to take advantage of it and went into halftime trailing 49:47. Both teams made just 19 field goals in the first half, but Dallas shot 35% from the floor while San Antonio shot 45%. Spurs' ball losses were the big difference early on.

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Klay Thompson hit a three-pointer at halftime to give the Mavs a 50-49 lead. Kyrie Irving hit a tough stepback three-pointer, then another Thompson transition three-pointer, and it finally looked like the Mavs offense had life. After Luka Doncic scored three goals for the first time and took the lead 61:53, coach Popovich called a timeout.

The offense continued, including Luka Doncic hitting a pass surrounded by Victor Wembanyama behind the head to PJ Washington, who took the lead in the third corner to make it 69:55. A quick 7-0 run by the Spurs would reduce the lead back to single digits. That run was ended by a slick pass from Hardy to Lively that led to two free throws. Wembanyama would hit a three-pointer on the next possession to cut the lead to six, and Chris Paul would then follow up with a contested three-pointer over Lively to cut the lead to three.

A few late baskets during that period gave the Mavs some breathing room as they headed into the fourth and . Dallas really has the ability to turn up the intensity on defense when needed and can turn the tide in games.

A flagrant foul on Sochan led to two free throws from Daniel Gafford, then on the ensuing possession Gafford found a cutting Quentin Grimes to extend the lead back to 11. Maxi Kleber had an insane block on one side, and Klay Thompson had an open three-pointer on the other, extending the lead to 14. This was the start of a 12-0 run that they would use to take control of the game.

The Mavs stayed on cruise control for the rest of the game and won 120-109. They outscored the Spurs by 13 points in the second half.

After a slow start, Luka Doncic led all scorers with 28 points, but shot just 9/24 from the floor. He also added 10 rebounds and eight assists on the night, but it was clear he was trying to get back on his feet. Klay Thompson was electric in his debut, finishing the game with 22 points and seven rebounds and shooting 6/10 from three-point range. Dereck Lively II also had a great game with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six assists. This is the first 15/10/5 game of his career.

San Antonio was led by Jeremy Sochan and Julian Champagnie with 18 points, followed closely by Victor Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes with 17 points. Wembanyama mainly struggled, shooting 5/18 from the floor and turning the ball over four times. Dallas used an interesting defensive strategy by guarding him primarily with PJ Washington or Maxi Kleber, whoever was at the four, and then having a center wait for him in the paint. They were hampered by turnovers, something Chris Paul was supposed to fix, with 19 on the night.

Dallas will play the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix on Saturday night at 9 p.m. CST.

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