Luka Doncic on Wednesday had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in his 33rd triple-double, while Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 14 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks used a late run to pull away and beat the San Antonio Spurs 115-104.
Dallas finished with a 17-4 run against a Spurs team who will no longer have seven-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge in the lineup.
Before the game, coach Gregg Popovich announced that Aldridge, 35, in his sixth season in San Antonio, would no longer be with the team by mutual agreement.
Photo: AP
“He’s been a great teammate,” said Popovich, who added that Aldridge is healthy. “We just think this is a win-win for both LaMarcus and for the club.”
Spurs veteran guard Patty Mills also played with Aldridge in Portland.
“He might the longest teammate that I’ve had,” Mills said. “He’s obviously well respected by this group particularly and every team that he’s played for. As a teammate, you just wish the best for him.”
Photo: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY
DeMar DeRozan had 30 points, 11 assists and four steals for the Spurs. Mills added 14 points and Rudy Gay had 13 for San Antonio, who were outrebounded 51-30 and outscored 21-2 on second-chance points.
“We lost the game on the boards,” Popovich said. “Porzingis was great on the boards. I thought we did a good job on Doncic. Played hard, played well, but too many mental mistakes and a little bit uneven flow and uneven performance offensively.”
During the Mavericks’ late spurt, the Spurs missed 11 straight shots over almost eight minutes.
Photo: AP
Porzingis, who had off-season knee surgery, has double-doubles in three straight and seven of his past 12 games.
“I feel like I’m getting there,” Porzingis said. “I still have to keep working on it. After surgery, the leg, it’s not feeling the same.”
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle called Porzingis “tremendous.”
“He was great on defense. He passed the ball. He cut. He moved. He did virtually everything,” Carlisle said.
In Memphis, Tennessee, Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 29 points and matched his season best with 20 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies to a 127-112 victory over the Washington Wizards
With Valanciunas controlling the middle, and Ja Morant adding 21 points and 10 assists on drives to the basket, Memphis scored 78 paint points.
Rookie Desmond Bane complemented the inside scoring with a season-high 20 points, going five of eight from three-point range.
“It was four days without basketball,” Valanciunas said of getting back on the court. “It was great to play basketball again. Great to be with the group, win a game and have some fun playing.”
Bradley Beal scored 21 points for the Wizards, but was six of 22 from the field, including only one of eight from three-point range.
“They face-guard him. They put their hand on him,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of the defense on Beal, primarily from Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks.
“I thought [Beal] did a good job of getting to the free-throw line eight times in the first half. He did the same thing in the second half and didn’t get any calls. They were physical with him,” Scott Brooks said.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
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