Irving and Gafford lead Mavericks past Wemby-less Spurs 110-93

DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford scored 22 points apiece as the Dallas Mavericks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 110-93 win on Saturday night over the San Antonio Spurs, who played without star center Victor Wembanyama.

The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama, last season’s unanimous selection as NBA Rookie of the Year, was sidelined with a bruised right knee and is day to day. He got hurt during a home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Zach Collins, Wembanyama’s replacement in the starting lineup, led the Spurs with a season-high 20 points. Julian Champagnie scored 13, all in the first half.

Gafford set a season high for points as Dallas got a season-best 54 from its bench.

Irving missed the previous game with a right shoulder sprain.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic, sixth in the NBA coming in at 29.3 points per game, had 16 — one above his season low. He added six rebounds and six assists in a season-low 28 minutes.

Takeaways

Spurs: Wembanyama shot 24 of 50 behind the arc in the previous four games. Collins was 0 for 5.

Mavericks: Dallas exploited Wembanyama’s absence inside and outscored the Spurs 46-22 in the paint through three periods.

Key moment

With the score tied at 47 and under three minutes left in the first half, Gafford blocked Tre Jones at the rim. Collins grabbed the rebound but had it stripped by P.J. Washington Jr., who fed Naji Marshall for a layup that gave the Mavericks the lead for good.

Key stats

The Mavericks outscored the Spurs 38-18 in the third quarter, outshooting them 59.1% to 22.7%.

Up next

The Spurs begin a three-game homestand Tuesday against Oklahoma City in an NBA Cup game. The Mavericks complete a back-to-back at Oklahoma City on Sunday night.

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