SAN ANTONIO -- It's times like Thursday night when the Dallas Mavericks probably just want to crawl into bed and hide under the sheets.
After being embarrassed by the San Antonio Spurs 93-71, the Mavericks saw their modest two-game winning streak blow up in their face as they left the AT&T Center totally disgusted. It was a rough day at the office for the defending world champions, who trailed wire to wire and never put up a serious fight."We got our butts kicked," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "That's all right, we'll take it like men and get ready for the next one."It's a tough loss, it's disappointing and I don't know if there is a lot of analysis beyond that."The Mavs team that looked so impressive this week in victories over Oklahoma City and Phoenix must have stayed on the airport's runway. Dallas (3-5) shot 35.1 percent from the field, produced only 11 assists and made only 27 field goals.Things were so bad that if Delonte West had not made a pair of free throws with 4.4 seconds left to give him 10 points, then Jason Terry would have been the lone Maverick in double figure with 12 points."You've got to give [the Spurs] credit," said Dirk Nowitzki, who was only 3-of-11 from the field with six points. "They came out really on fire; they didn't miss."They really didn't shoot the ball well, either, and I thought we defended them pretty well [in the second half]. But in that first quarter we were already dead."Two 3-point field goals by Gary Neal fueled a 16-2 run and blasted the Spurs to a 19-4 lead less than six minutes into the game. The Spurs were 11-of-18 from 3-point land in the first half to 0-of-11 from that same distance for the Mavericks.Thus, the rout was on, as San Antonio, paced by Matt Bonner's 17 points, led by a comfortable 55-29 at the half.The Mavericks didn't get their 55th point until Ian Mahinmi converted a free throw with 6:15 remaining in the game. By then, the Spurs had 74 points and were just running roughshod all over the Mavs, even though San Antonio played without All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, who was out with a broken hand."They came out and ran at us and we couldn't recover from it," said Terry, who was 4-of-14 from the field. "In the third quarter we did a better job, but it was tough."The Mavericks were playing their sixth game in eight days, while the Spurs, who shot 39.5 percent form the field, were playing their fifth game in eight days. And both teams were playing on the second night of a back-to-back.Guard Jason Kidd suffered a lower-back injury in the first quarter and did not return.By the end of the first period, the Spurs were nursing a 31-17 lead. Dallas didn't score its 31st point until Nowitzki nailed a jumper with 8:53 left in the third quarter.That left the Mavs in a 25-point hole (57-32) on a night when the stars definitely weren't aligned in their favor."San Antonio's energy was better to start the game and in the first half, and that was the difference in the game," Carlisle said. "We struggled, but their competitive level was higher, and really the decisive part was the first half."Dwain Price817-390-7760Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
