Dusty May’s postgame assessment pointed at the clock before it pointed at Kyrie Irving. The Dallas coach judged that the Mavericks began their final attack too late, a sharper criticism of the possession’s timing than of Irving’s ability to take a difficult shot. Dallas lost 112-111 to San Antonio on Wednesday, but it had done enough before the ending to give itself a genuine chance.
After Victor Wembanyama made the second of two free throws with 24.2 seconds remaining, Dallas called timeout. The design sent Irving toward the middle against De’Aaron Fox, with Cooper Flagg cutting from the corner. The action did not produce an immediate attack. Irving’s 15-foot attempt came with 2.5 seconds left, and Dylan Harper secured the rebound after the miss.
That was the final possession. It was also the consequence of two earlier Dallas trips that produced nothing while the score was tied.
At 1:41, Naji Marshall’s 23-foot three had brought the Mavericks level at 111-111. Marshall then blocked Fox’s 13-foot pullup at 1:29 and collected the defensive rebound. Dallas could have taken control. Instead, Marshall’s pass was intercepted by Devin Vassell at 1:24. San Antonio did not score on that possession—Wembanyama missed a 31-foot three at 1:02—but Dallas still had to start over.
Irving collected the rebound after Wembanyama’s miss at 1:02. His own three-point pullup with 43.3 seconds left did not go in, and Castle secured the defensive rebound. Washington then fouled Wembanyama at 24.2 seconds. The first of two free throws missed, the second put the Spurs up 112-111. Dallas called timeout.
Those empty Dallas touches are important because they prevent the final miss from carrying the entire story. The Mavericks did not arrive at the last shot with the game already decided against them. Their defense had twice limited San Antonio after the tie, while the Spurs’ only point after Marshall’s three came from Wembanyama’s free throw.
Dallas had opportunities to make the final possession less demanding. Neither earlier possession produced a score.
Irving’s night deserves a fuller accounting than the final frame. He scored 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added five assists. His 10 points in the third quarter helped fuel Dallas’s 60-44 advantage after halftime, when the Mavericks began cutting into a 68-51 deficit.
He finished 9-for-27 from the field, so this was not a flawless offensive performance. Still, assigning the loss to one late miss would ignore the scoring that kept Dallas within reach after a damaging first half.
The comeback also had substantial support around him. Marshall produced 13 fourth-quarter points on 5-for-7 shooting and hit all three of his threes in the period. Flagg scored 15 after halftime, finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and assisted on Marshall’s tying three.
