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An enormous line and a tiny margin
Further record: Mavs in Focus — Dallas finds the fight too late as Wembanyama’s 52 holds up, Joe Friedman / Mavs Moneyball — Dallas comeback and final-possession analysis, ESPN — Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs: box score
Victor Wembanyama delivered 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks as San Antonio beat Dallas 112–111 on November 4. Spurs fans have a performance to revisit; Mavericks fans have a comeback that ended just short.
The score conveys the difficulty better than the individual line alone. San Antonio built a substantial advantage, yet still needed a final defensive stop to turn an exceptional night into a win.
The paint shapes the first half
Further record: Joe Friedman / Mavs Moneyball — Dallas comeback and final-possession analysis
San Antonio led 32–26 after one and 68–51 at halftime. Wembanyama already had 29 points, fifteen rebounds and five blocks, making the interior central at both ends.
In his Mavs Moneyball analysis, Joe Friedman described Dallas hesitating and struggling near the basket before the break. That is a useful way to watch rim protection: the impact includes attacks reconsidered as well as shots blocked.
Dallas makes a game of it again
Further record: Joe Friedman / Mavs Moneyball — Dallas comeback and final-possession analysis, Mavs in Focus — Dallas finds the fight too late as Wembanyama’s 52 holds up, ESPN — Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs: box score
The Mavericks won the third 29–22 and entered the fourth down 90–80. Kyrie Irving finished with 29 points, Naji Marshall scored 22 off the bench and Cooper Flagg added nineteen points, ten rebounds and five assists.
Flagg had made only one of eleven shots in the first half, but found a response after the break. That recovery deserves credit: a poor start did not remove him from the contest, and Dallas earned another chance to win.
Execution decides the final minute
Further record: Joe Friedman / Mavs Moneyball — Dallas comeback and final-possession analysis
Marshall’s three with 1:41 remaining tied the game at 111. Wembanyama split two free throws with roughly 24 seconds left, and Irving missed a difficult turnaround on the final possession. Only then was the result settled.
Friedman questioned how late Dallas began that last attack. It offers a more useful discussion than simply saying the Mavericks came close: starting early enough to create a second option matters when one basket can change the result.
What the 52 points meant to the team
Further record: Mavs in Focus — Dallas finds the fight too late as Wembanyama’s 52 holds up, ESPN — Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs: box score
Wembanyama shot sixteen of 28 and made nineteen of 23 free throws. San Antonio, meanwhile, went five of 36 from three. His scoring was carrying the attack on a poor perimeter night, rather than decorating an easy win.
The next question is where more reliable support can come from. When the centerpiece contributes this much and the result still hangs on the last possession, steadier production elsewhere becomes an especially valuable target.
Replay the struggle, not just the spectacular plays
Further record: Joe Friedman / Mavs Moneyball — Dallas comeback and final-possession analysis
Watch how Wembanyama built the first-half advantage, then how Dallas worked its way back. A collection of blocks and dunks alone misses the tension between those two halves.
San Antonio earned the win and Dallas showed it could respond. The Spurs will want more consistent help; the Mavericks need their later urgency from the opening minutes. Those are concrete reasons to look forward to what follows.
