(The Sports Xchange) – LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points, 13 of them in a pivotal third quarter, to help San Antonio whip the Dallas Mavericks 112-83 on Sunday and stay undefeated at home this season.
The Spurs (36-6), who have now won 11 straight, improved to 24-0 at home this season, the best start by a Western Conference team since Portland won their initial 26 home games in 1977-78. The Golden State Warriors are 19-0 at home this season.
“In the first half, we took more jump shots than usual, so I was just trying to be on the block and be more aggressive,” Aldridge said. “I am feeling more comfortable in my role in this offense and we are getting better and better.”
The Spurs extended their regular-season home victory streak to 33 games, dating back to an overtime loss to Cleveland last March. They also tied their best start in franchise history after 42 games.
San Antonio got 16 points from reserve forward Boris Diaw and 15 from Kawhi Leonard, who did not play in the fourth quarter. Jonathon Simmons added 14 points for the Spurs.
Spurs’ starters Tim Duncan and Tony Parker scored just two points each, with Parker going 0-for-4 from the floor. He left the game midway through the third quarter with soreness in his right hip and did not return.
The Mavericks (23-19) were led by Dwight Powell’s 15 points and got 12 from Wesley Matthews. Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki had just four points, his lowest output in a game since Feb. 29, 2012, when he scored one at Memphis.
“Both LA (Aldridge) and Boris (Diaw) were great in the pick-and-roll defense getting back to Dirk,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Obviously, he’s a tough cover, so both of them deserve a lot of credit.”
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Nowitzki’s poor shooting night was his fault. “I have to get Dirk better looks — we have to run some things to put him into better positions,” Carlisle said. “I take the blame for that.”
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first quarter, which went to the Mavericks 16-14 thanks to a jumper from Raymond Felton with 36.9 seconds to play.
It was the Spurs’ lowest-scoring quarter of the season, as they shot just 22.7 percent (5-for-22). Dallas were not much better, hitting just seven of 23, and the two teams combined to go 0-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc.
Diaw’s three-pointer early in the second quarter tied the game at 21-21. Then back-to-back three-pointers by Simmons, the second one was just ahead of the shot clock, gave the Spurs a 27-26 lead.
From there, San Antonio found their stride as Leonard worked the baseline for a pair of turnaround jumpers and a three-pointer, Aldridge took the ball to the hole for a layup and Spurs guard Many Ginobili swooped in for a breakaway finger roll after a steal as part of a 13-0 run.
The Spurs led 46-36 at halftime behind Aldridge’s 10 points and a 23-16 advantage over Dallas in bench scoring.
“We were right there with the lead in the second quarter and just weren’t able to finish that quarter the way we wanted to,” Nowitzki said. “Things just kind of steamrolled from there.”
Aldridge put the Spurs on his back in the third quarter, scoring 11 of San Antonio’s first 12 points, helping to push the lead to 58-44 with 6:45 to play. San Antonio outscored the Mavericks 8-3 in the final 1:54 of the quarter and had a 78-56 heading into the final period.
“We just didn’t finish quarters as well as we wanted to, and when they made the run there in the third quarter we just weren’t able to respond,” Matthews said. “As players we didn’t do the things we needed to against a championship team.”
Carlisle was ejected from the game with 11:17 to play in the fourth quarter after coming far onto the court and gesturing at one of the officials.
By that time, the Spurs were up by 23 points and cruising to their 11th straight win over the Mavericks in the AT&T Center.
“There was a level of frustration tonight but everyone was trying to do the right thing,” Carlisle said. “San Antonio goes hard and they can make you look bad. We got beat and that’s the name of that tune.”
