SAN ANTONIO – For the second season in a row, the Mavericks made a trip to San Antonio when the Spurs were missing two prongs of their superstar tripod.
And, for the second time, the news was bad for the Mavericks – on multiple fronts this time.
They tried to fashion another remarkable comeback, but it wasn't going to happen against the short-handed Spurs, who made enough plays to fend off the Mavericks, 92-83, Wednesday night at AT&T Center.
The game was bad enough, but the news also was grim on Josh Howard, who left the game with 8:46 to go in the third quarter. It was his third game back after off-season ankle surgery.
"He was limping, so we took him out," coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's the first back-to-back [games for Howard]. We'll evaluate it and treat it accordingly. He's had some soreness. It's no secret. There's going to be times when there's soreness, and we have to get him out of the game."
Asked when he knew he was done for the night, Howard said: "When he took me out, pretty much."
Howard called the situation a slow process to get back to complete health.
"I'm going to go with the unexpected speed bump right now," he said when asked if it was a setback. "I just got to keep working toward getting healthier."
The second night of back-to-back games clearly did not agree with the ankle.
"I didn't know how it was going to respond," Howard said. "It's something I got to deal with and keep fighting. There's some small swelling, but the soreness, cutting and stuff, was killing me."
Sort of like the Spurs defense was fatal to the Mavericks for most of the night.
The Spurs were without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. And still they had the Mavericks collared defensively for most of the night. The Mavericks needed a late-game hot streak to get to 35 percent shooting.
Last February, it was Duncan and Manu Ginobili who were out, and Parker ripped the Mavericks for 37 points in a 93-76 win.
The Spurs once led by 16 and were the aggressors all night. Carlisle said there were stretches when the Mavericks matched that level of intensity but not for long enough periods. And they never exceeded San Antonio's will.
"I make no excuses, they played harder than us," Carlisle said. "Simple as that. If you don't play hard enough, you're going to get your [tail] kicked. And that's essentially what happened."
The Spurs were 12 up with under eight minutes to go. But after getting stifled on offense, the Mavericks unleashed their own defense and stopped the Spurs on seven consecutive possessions to draw within 83-79.
Dirk Nowitzki, who had a hard-earned 29 points, missed a tough fadeaway in the lane, and Matt Bonner made his third 3-pointer of the night. After a Maverick turnover, Richard Jefferson, who match Nowitzki's 29 points, scored for an 88-79 Spurs lead and the Mavericks never threatened.
Brute force: The Mavericks got an up-close look at rookie DeJuan Blair, who was drafted out of Pittsburgh with the 37th pick by the Spurs.
He rejected a Nowitzki drive in the second quarter and has been a consistent contributor for the Spurs.
On draft night, the Mavericks toyed with trying to find a pick early in the second round to use on Blair.
"He was a great pick," Carlisle said. "My understanding is there were rumors of physical problems that allowed him to drop. But he's a fine player [with a] physical presence, athleticism, toughness and he's played well so far. He's going to be a good player here for a long time."
Briefly: The NBA unveiled an online television companion for each team's fans on Wednesday. The feature provides in-arena experience and access to real-time statistical information, as well as access to Twitter, Facebook, etc. Fans also can get halftime and postgame highlights. ... Carlisle on the Spurs' 14 3-pointers: "You give up 14 3-pointers, you're going to lose. I don't know if I've ever seen a game where a team got 14 3-pointers and lost. We needed to be closer to them."
| MOVE OVER, WILT | |||
| When Erick Dampier made all six of his shots Tuesday and collected 20 rebounds, he became the fifth player to have at least 20 rebounds while also making all of his field goal attempts (minimum six) since Wilt Chamberlain retired. The Big Dipper did it 11 times. The others since 1980: | |||
| Player | Year | FG-Att. | Reb |
| Swen Nater | 1980 | 7-for-7 | 21 |
| Charles Oakley | 1991 | 6-for-6 | 24 |
| Dik. Mutombo | 1999 | 11-for-11 | 29 |
| David Lee | 2009 | 6-for-6 | 21 |
| Erick Dampier | 2009 | 6-for-6 | 20 |
| Source: Elias Sports Bureau. | |||
