DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 22 points in his Dallas debut and the Mavericks beat the 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 shot just 5 of 18 from the field for 17 points to open the young French phenom’s second year with the Spurs. Jeremy Sochan and Julian Champagnie scored 18 apiece.
Takeaways
Spurs: Thompson’s first game with the Mavericks was the headliner, but Chris Paul’s San Antonio debut to start his 20th season was an important moment for the Spurs in the growth of a young team seeking to end a five-season playoff drought. The offense looked rough, 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 has been talking defense with the star offensive trio of Doncic, Irving and Thompson. There was a brief display in the third quarter with three consecutive San Antonio turnovers. Thompson had the first steal, Irving the next two. Dallas scored just two points, though.
Key moment
The Mavericks took their biggest lead to that point at 69-55 in the third quarter when Doncic was in heavy traffic under the basket and threw a blind pass over his head to P.J. Washington Jr. for an open 3.
Key stat
Dallas pulled away by warming up significantly 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.
Up next
The Spurs play the first of consecutive home games against Houston on Saturday. The Mavericks play their road opener Saturday at Phoenix.
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