San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama backed Mavericks guard Luka Doncic into the post, hoping to exploit the size mismatch. But as the 7-3 Spurs center spun toward the basket, Doncic stripped the ball clean, triggering a fast break that ended with Dallas center Dereck Lively II slamming home a dunk.
It was a defining sequence in the Mavericks’ 120-109 win Thursday in the season opener at American Airlines Center. Whenever the Spurs’ prized big man tried to impose himself on the Mavs, their defense smothered his efforts, showcasing a gritty resilience that left Wembanyama struggling to find a rhythm.
P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Lively were the Mavericks’ main defenders on last season’s unanimous Rookie of the Year, who finished with 17 points in only 28 minutes.
“It felt good,” Mavericks guard Klay Thompson said of his team’s effort on Wembanyama. “He’s the future of this league. He does things that other players can’t do.”
The Spurs center said he’ll need a game or two to get in better shape after playing only two preseason games.
“Some moments felt a little hard conditioning-wise at first.” he said. “Of course, we had some really good basketball moments and some had some really bad ones.”
Wembanyama is the betting favorite for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year after finishing second last season. The first-team All-Defense player became the first rookie in NBA history and only the second player to record 200 blocks and 100 3-pointers in a season.
But every time Wembanyama touched the ball Thursday, a Dallas player pressured him. It was difficult for the Spurs center to get comfortable handling the ball on the perimeter. The Mavericks forced him to turn the ball over four times and he shot 5-of-18 (28%) from the field.
“We came back, and we knew we had to be more active, more vocal,” Lively said. “And just be more disciplined on the defensive end.”
The 20-year-old Wembanyama, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and a league-high 3.6 blocks last season. And he improved after the All-Star break in almost every statistical category.
Wembanyama’s rookie season caught the attention of former President Barack Obama, who talked about the Spurs center on a recent episode of “The Young Man and the Three” podcast.
“It’s hard to take your eyes off him when he’s on the court,” Obama said.
Lively, listed as 7-1, is a couple of inches shorter than Wembanyama but made his presence felt whenever Gafford went to the bench. In the second half, he stopped Wembanyama on multiple occasions while going to the rim.
“There’s a lot of tall, strong guys in the NBA and that’s how it is,” Wembanyama said. “He’s really hard to manage around Luka.”
The Spurs signed point guard Chris Paul to a one-year, $10.5-million deal in July, but the 39-year-old former All-Star had trouble setting up Wembanyama.
Paul helped several other Spurs get in rhythm, but his connection didn’t seem as fluid with the Frenchman. The Mavericks perimeter players helped occupy Paul’s passing pockets to Wembanyama.
The Mavericks will soon have a chance to see if the pair has found a groove, when they meet the Spurs again Nov. 16.
