Dallas Mavericks face daunting task in beating San Antonio Spurs
The daunting task facing the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday is arguably their most difficult of the season thus far.
At 6 p.m. at the AT&T Center, the Mavs (23-18) will square off against a San Antonio Spurs’ squad that’s 35-6 overall and a perfect 23-0 at home. It’s one of those games that will serve as a great indicator on how wide the gap is between the Mavs and the Spurs, who are 12 games ahead of Dallas in the Southwest Division.
You’ve just got to bring a very hard and committed game and you’ve got to play well.
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on beating the Spurs
“They’re great in all areas, they’re great at home, they’re deep, they’re skilled and they go extremely hard,” coach Rick Carlisle said of the Spurs. “You’ve just got to bring a very hard and committed game and you’ve got to play well.”
The Mavs are hoping Sunday they’ll be able to duplicate what they were able to accomplish in the second half of Friday’s 83-77 win over Chicago. In that game they put on a gritty performance and held the Bulls to just 31 points in the second half.
“We just got to play hard,” shooting guard Wesley Matthews said. “Obviously they’re a great team, a [NBA] Finals team, a championship team for a reason, and we’ve got our work cut out for us.
“We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball and try to make as many of their offensive possessions as tough as possible.”
We did some good things in the first game — we were close. But we didn’t finish.
Carlisle on the Mavericks’ 88-83 loss to the Spurs in November
The Mavs went toe-to-toe with the Spurs on Nov. 25 before losing in San Antonio 88-83. The 88 points are the fewest the Spurs have scored in a home game this season and the second-fewest they’ve scored in any game this season.
“We did some good things in the first game — we were close,” Carlisle said. “But we didn’t finish.
“This is a proposition where, from start to finish, you’ve got to be solid, you’ve got to keep working the game, and you’ve got to keep making it hard on them and put yourself in a position. We had a couple of breakdowns at key times and we were playing from behind a lot of the night, too, so we want to do better.”
Big 3 still a factor
The consensus around the NBA is that the Spurs havebecome Kawhi Leonard’s team.
But there are many who suggest that’s not true.
For years, the Spurs have been hanging their hats on the fortunes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Duncan is now 39 years old, Ginobili is 38 and Parker is 33.
However, that dynamic trio still has been a major factor in the Spurs jumping out to a 35-6 record this season.
“Don’t be fooled into thinking that these other guys are getting old,” Carlisle said. “Parker is playing great, Ginobili’s having a great year.
“And Duncan is still a major factor, so, hey, from top to bottom, they’ve got all the bases covered. They’ve got a present and a future, and you’ve got to give them credit for how they’ve done things, but we’ve got to be ready to go on the boards and get it done on the court.’’
Fond memories
The Mavs practiced at the Antioch Community Sports Complex on Saturday in San Antonio.
It’s a place that has special meaning to guard J.J. Barea.
Back when he was trying to break into the NBA in 2006 as an undrafted rookie free agent, Barea found out in that building that he had made the Mavs’ final 15-man roster.
Barea received the news from Avery Johnson, who was the Mavs’ coach at the time and who was part of the dedication of the building following a long career with the Spurs.
“We had a preseason game here [in San Antonio],” Barea said. “Avery told me after practice that I had made the team.”
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Dallas Mavericks face daunting task in beating San Antonio Spurs."