Leonard guides Spurs past skidding Mavericks
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points as the San Antonio Spurs posted their sixth straight victory by outlasting the Dallas Mavericks for a 96-91 win on Monday at the AT&T Center.
The Spurs led 90-88 before Leonard wrestled the ball away from Dallas' Harrison Barnes near midcourt and swooped in for a dunk at the 2:07 mark. The Mavericks' Wesley Matthews hit a layup and converted a free throw on the next possession to make it a 92-91 game.
After getting a stop, Dallas had a chance to take the lead but Barnes missed a stepback jumper with 15 seconds to play. Manu Ginobili added to San Antonio's lead with two free throws before Seth Curry missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds to play.
Patty Mills added 17 points for the Spurs (11-3) while Pau Gasol and David Lee scored 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Curry led Dallas with 23 points while Barnes and Matthews hit for 20 each. Salah Mejri pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks, who have stumbled to an NBA-worst 2-11 start, lost for the sixth straight game and for the 20th time in the past 24 meetings with San Antonio.
Dallas was in the game until the final minutes despite the absence of four of its key players: forward Dirk Nowitzki (right Achilles strain) and guards Jose Juan Barea (left calf strain), Deron Williams (left calf strain) and Devin Harris (right great toe sprain).
The Spurs started two rookies - first-round draft pick guard Dejounte Murray from Washington and Latvian forward Davis Bertans - against injury-depleted Dallas as coach Gregg Popovich decided minutes before the game to rest guard Tony Parker and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Dallas got 10 points from Barnes and eight from Curry while shooting 59 percent as the team from the floor and forging a 28-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. Leonard led the Spurs with 10 points but San Antonio was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, committing five turnovers in the first 12 minutes.
The Spurs retook the lead, at 36-35, on a 3-pointer by Leonard at the 5:58 mark of the second quarter. But the Mavericks fought back behind Curry's hot shooting (he hit 5 of 6 from beyond the arc in the first half) and leapfrogged San Antonio in the final minutes to garner a 49-48 advantage at intermission.
Curry led all scorers in the half with 17 while Barnes ended up with 10 after being held without a point in the second quarter. Leonard paced the Spurs with 15 points and Gasol added nine on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Matthews poured in three 3-pointers in the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter to help push the Mavericks' lead to 58-50.
A Ginobili 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark of the period tied the game at 65 and, after two offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession, Mills nailed another three to allow the Spurs to regain the advantage at 68-65.
After losing the lead to an up-and-under, left-handed layup by the Mavericks' Jonathan Gibson, a Gasol free throw with 3.7 seconds left tied the game at 73 and set the stage for a furious finish.
NOTES: The Spurs franchise was originally located in Dallas and called the Chaparrals. They moved to the Alamo City in 1973 after being sold to a group of local investors. ... The first game in Mavericks' history was a 103-92 win over the Spurs on Oct. 11, 1980. ... San Antonio set an NBA record by shooting 70.7 percent (53-75) from the field in a 132-120 win over the Mavericks on April 16, 1983. ... Dallas guard Wesley Matthews was born in San Antonio. ... The starting five for the Spurs outscored opposing starters in five of six games coming in (449-349). ... The Mavericks shot a season-high 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from beyond the arc at Orlando on Saturday. They hit 13 threes against the Magic, their most since knocking down 18 in the season opener at Indiana on Oct. 16. ... Dallas led the NBA in charges drawn this season entering the game with 24.