DeRozan, Aldridge lead Spurs past Mavericks 112-105

DALLAS (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 28 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-105 on Tuesday night.

DeRozan and Aldridge had identical 11-for-19 shooting lines from the field and combined to go 17 of 17 from the foul line. The Spurs led from the middle of the first quarter on in winning their sixth in a row. Dallas lost its sixth straight and 11th in 12 games.

Derrick White added 23 points and seven assists for San Antonio.

Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 34 points for the Mavericks and Dwight Powell added 20.

Luka Doncic started for Dallas despite a strained knee but went through one of his worst games of his rookie season. Doncic didn’t score until the final minute of the first half and ended up with 12 points and nine turnovers.

He finished 5 for 18 from the field and 1 for 9 from the line. Things hit rock bottom for Doncic in the third quarter, when he was fouled on a 3-point shot and didn’t make any of the free throws. He also missed 3 of 4 from the line down the stretch when Dallas was mounting a comeback.

Doncic hit a running bank shot to bring Dallas within 97-94 with 3:29 to play, but Davis Bertans made a 3 from the corner to restore a six-point lead.

DeRozan and White hit back-to-back mid-range jumpers to put San Antonio up 106-99 in the final minute and the Spurs sealed it with free throws.

The Spurs closed the first quarter on a 19-5 run, with DeRozan scoring 14 during that stretch, to lead 34-24.

San Antonio extended the lead to 15 early in the second quarter before Doncic scored the final five points of the half to pull Dallas within 60-53.

PRAISING DIRK

Dirk Nowitzki started his sixth game of the season and scored eight points, all in the first quarter. He needs 27 more to pass Wilt Chamberlain for sixth place on the NBA’s career scoring list.

“Dirk is a spectacular example of a competitor on the court and a great human being all at the same time,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He competed with a ferocity. He loved winning, he hated losing, but he was classy in the sense that he knew how to do both.”

Nowitzki has played more regular-season games (77) against the Spurs than any other opponent, and another 33 in the playoffs. San Antonio hosts the Mavericks in the regular-season finale on April 10, which could be Nowitzki’s last game.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Popovich said Rudy Gay would return on Friday after missing the last two games with the flu. … Dejounte Murray was with the team even though he is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. “He’s going to be very important to us next year,” Popovich said. “On these single-game trips, we just wanted him to start being with the group.”

Mavericks: Brunson has scored in double figures in his last five games. His career high in three years at Villanova was 31.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Host the Knicks on Friday.

Mavericks: Visit Denver on Thursday.