San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The San Antonio Spurs flashed their reigning-champion form early on Tuesday night, but the Dallas Mavericks punched back on their home court and rode off with a 101-94 win. The Mavericks now lead the season series 2-1 with their final meeting coming in San Antonio on Friday.
Monta Ellis shook off his recent struggles and rained down a game-high 38 points, which was more than the Spurs' top two scorers combined. Dirk Nowitzki reached yet another career milestone and joined rare company with his 10,000th rebound.
After the Spurs built a 12-point lead over the first 12 minutes, the Mavs outscored them 59-37 during the second and third quarters. The Mavs do not trifle with double-digit leads to start a fourth quarter, and they held off several surges from a Spurs squad that had looked lifeless for long stretches of the game.
| Rajon Rondo | C- |
| Monta Ellis | A |
| Chandler Parsons | B |
| Dirk Nowitzki | B+ |
| Tyson Chandler | B- |
| Rest of Team | C |
| Tony Parker | C |
| Danny Green | B |
| Kawhi Leonard | A- |
| Tim Duncan | B- |
| Tiago Splitter | C+ |
| Rest of Team | C |
Dallas Mavericks
Dirk Nowitzki, Power Forward
Nowitzki had himself a milestone evening in what has been a milestone-studded season with his 10,000th career rebound. While he's the 37th player to record that many boards, he joins some very elite company when considered with his other career stats.
Nowitzki ended with 15 points and 13 rebounds, making him the only player to record a double-double in the game. He also dished three assists.
However, it took timely hooping from Dirk, as he reached halftime with only two points. But he strung together eight points in a hurry during the third quarter as the Mavericks began to assert themselves. It's that kind of perseverance that helped him reach 10,000 boards.
Grade: B+
Monta Ellis, Shooting Guard
With Monta Ellis shooting just 39 percent from the field and 21 percent from three-point range since the All-Star break, his 4-of-22 shooting performance in Sunday's loss to the Phoenix Suns felt like the nadir of his season.
But Ellis came out determined against the Spurs, sizzling with 15 first-half points. He got the griddle even hotter in the second half, ending his evening with 38 points on 16-of-27 shooting. His two treys made him the only Maverick with multiple three-pointers. Ellis also dished five dimes and snagged a couple of steals.
After the game, a reserved Ellis conveyed his focus and dedication to helping his team, and he did that in droves on Tuesday. If he gets hot in the month of April, watch out.
Grade: A
Rajon Rondo, Point Guard
Rajon Rondo had trouble finding his shot and struggled with turnover problems as well, but at least he steered clear of the foul line.
Rondo missed four of the five shots he attempted and tallied just two points, and while he distributed five assists, he committed a team-high four turnovers. However, he did haul in nine rebounds, which was as many as any player in the game other than Nowitzki.
And yet, Rondo's struggles were Ellis' gain.
Grade: C-
Chandler Parsons, Small Forward
Chandler Parsons ignited in the second quarter, scoring nine of his 11 first-half points, draining a three-pointer and grabbing an offensive rebound in the final minute to put the Mavericks down by only one possession at halftime.
While Parsons remained quiet in the second half and finished on 15 points, his energy on both ends made an impact as he logged a team-high 40 minutes. He also recorded four assists, which was more than any Spurs player can say.
Grade: B
Tyson Chandler, Center
Tyson Chandler picked up his third personal foul late in the second quarter, and that impacted his minutes. He still played for a half-hour and notched six points with seven rebounds.
Chandler did not record a block, but he did aid the Mavs to a 14-point advantage in paint scoring. He was also responsible for three of the team's 17 turnovers, which is too many for a pivot.
Grade: B-
Rest of Team
Al-Farouq Aminu had his high-energy game working, but this was one of the games when his scoring was nearly absent. He notched two points and five rebounds in 20 minutes, and the team really didn't need much more from him than that.
Devin Harris scored nine points off the bench but managed to foul out after only 26 minutes. Devin, we hardly knew ye.
Amar'e Stoudemire tacked on six points in a dozen minutes, but with the game on national TV, Stoudemire's defense got roasted by the TNT announcers when the Mavs reserve lost his man on a backdoor cut. Stoudemire is good for at least one of those per game.
Grade: C
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, Power Forward
Tim Duncan, with his quiet, reserved demeanor, seemed to fade into the background in Dallas. With coach Gregg Popovich restricting the playing time of his 38-year-old big man, Duncan logged only 24 minutes.
With Wednesday bringing a back-to-back game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs seemed to play conservatively with an eye on the next game.
Duncan came through with six points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots before he rested down the stretch. With Ellis' game in warp drive, the Spurs could have used more of Duncan in the paint.
Grade: B-
Kawhi Leonard, Small Forward
Leonard had blinking lights around him and looked like the most potent player on his team by far. Perhaps he didn't get the memo that the Spurs did not care deeply about winning the game.
Leonard scored a team-high 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added to his league-leading steals average with four more steals.
The Spurs actually grabbed 12 steals, twice as many as Dallas had, and yet they still got outscored 22-19 in points off turnovers. It simply wasn't the Spurs' night.
Grade: A-
Tony Parker, Point Guard
As Tony Parker goes, so go the Spurs. After struggling earlier in the season, the fortunes of both Parker and his team have improved greatly of late.
Entering Tuesday, Parker had put up 19.9 points per game on 58.5 percent shooting in March, and the Spurs had gone 8-2 in the month. That followed a February when Parker averaged 12.5 points on 39.6 percent shooting, and the team went 6-5 including a four-game skid.
This was more of a February game for Parker. He managed eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, recorded three assists to his four turnovers and exited after 26 minutes.
Grade: C
Tiago Splitter, Center
Tiago Splitter started off well with a couple of nifty dip-and-duck moves near the rim in the first quarter. But he found few such opportunities after that. After scoring six points in the game's first six minutes, he ended with just eight points.
While Splitter only totaled four rebounds, as many as reserve guard Marco Belinelli, he did grab three steals and blocked a shot. But whether on offense or defense, the Spurs failed to put together any meaningful run in the second half.
Grade: C+
Danny Green, Shooting Guard
On an evening when the Spurs looked deflated for much of the game, at least Danny Green had his three-point stroke working. He connected on four of his six tries from downtown to get his 17 points.
Green also had two steals, one of four Spurs to record multiple steals, and he blocked a shot. Unfortunately, the Spurs needed him to hit four or five more treys.
Grade: B
Rest of Team
Manu Ginobili had missed the last four games with an ankle injury, and while he made his first shot of the game, he also committed a pair of turnovers in his first eight minutes on the court. He ended on seven points and three assists, and he looked fairly comfortable in his 16 total minutes.
Boris Diaw scored eight points on 4-of-12 shooting, which was more field-goal attempts than any Spur other than Leonard. With Parker and Duncan seeming to take a half-day off, the Spurs needed Diaw to have a more potent performance, but it wasn't meant to be.
Marco Belinelli scored seven points, but he struggled from long range with just one three-pointer from five shots. The Spurs as a team shot just 29 percent from deep on 28 shots, effectively dooming the late comeback attempt.
Matt Bonner and Patty Mills each scored five points, except Bonner did it on two field-goal attempts while Mills needed eight.
Grade: C
What's Next?
The Spurs have a Wednesday evening home game against the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder, and then they'll host the Mavericks on Friday. The Mavericks have off until Friday's game, and then they'll visit the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
