National Basketball Association
Dallas 130, San Antonio 120
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, April 10, 2022
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #60 James Williams, #39 Tyler Ford, #83 Andy Nagy
Attendance: 20270

Luka Doncic scored 26 points despite sitting the entire fourth quarter, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 130-120 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Sunday on the final day of the NBA's regular season.

The Mavericks' win proved inconsequential after Golden State walloped New Orleans on Sunday to clinch the third seed in the West. Dallas (52-30) could have climbed to third with a victory and a Golden State loss -- instead the Mavericks finished fourth and will face fifth-seeded Utah in the first round of the playoffs.

Dallas blew open a game that was tied 59-59 at halftime and at 66-66 with 8:50 to play in the third period with Dorian Finney-Smith scoring all 16 of his points in the quarter and Jalen Brunson hitting for 10, allowing the Mavericks to carry a 97-82 lead into the final 12 minutes.

The Spurs (34-48) had little to play for in the season-finale after having secured the 10th seed in the West and a spot in the play-in tournament at New Orleans on Wednesday. The winner of the San Antonio-New Orleans game will face the loser of the Minnesota-Los Angeles Clippers game to see who will face top-seeded Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs.

Jalen Brunson added 18 points for the Mavericks, Theo Pinson had 16 and Dwight Powell hit for 12 points for Dallas, which will carry a four-game winning streak into the postseason.

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 24 points in the loss, with Josh Richardson scoring 18, Dejounte Murray adding 17, Devin Vassell contributing 15 points, and Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones hitting for 12 points each. San Antonio has dropped three straight games entering the play-in tourney.

Murray returned after missing the past five games with an upper-respiratory illness.

The Spurs led 29-28 at the end of the first quarter. The game flip-flopped through the second period with eight lead changes and neither team earning more than a four-point advantage. Doncic had 11 points in the period, including the jumper with 47.6 seconds left to tie the game at 59-59 at the break.

Doncic led all scorers in the half with 18 points, while Vassell and Johnson paced the Spurs with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Antonio   Dallas
Keldon Johnson 24 Scoring Luka Doncic 26
Dejounte Murray 7 Assists Luka Doncic 9
Jakob Poeltl 10 Rebounds Luka Doncic 8
Keldon Johnson 7 Free Throws Made Luka Doncic 8
Keldon Johnson 4 Steals Luka Doncic 2
Zach Collins 1 Blocks Luka Doncic 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
San Antonio 120 48.3 11-31 23-23 26 35 3 15 8
Dallas 130 54.1 20-36 18-23 34 43 3 5 16
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Utah. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .596 after a win and .700 after a loss.
  • San Antonio will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Spurs have a W/L % of .371 after a win and .447 after a loss.