By james art Dallas opened their 2024-25 NBA campaign with a strong home win against the San Antonio Spurs. | Photo: Mavericks
Luka Doncic’s flawless offense and play were on full display, Kyrie Irving stepped up and Klay Thompson made his way to a solid debut.
Dallas’ new “Big Three” came to play and started the Mavericks’ revenge tour with a bang.
Doncic, Irving and Thompson combined for 65 points in a huge 120-109 season-opening doubleheader against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, October 25 (PH Time).
The Slovenian superstar was just two assists away from a triple-double – finishing with 23 markers, 10 rebounds and eight steals to lead the Mavericks to their fifth straight win against the Spurs since last season.
Dallas got off to a bright start in the fourth, outscoring San Antonio 24-10 over the first six minutes of the period to extend its lead from 87-80 to 111-90. The spurs cbut the Maverick’s once-leading 14-point lead in the third to just seven points entering the final frame.
“He’s looking at you and me.”
Luca knows that his new teammate Clay is MONEY from deep!
19 for Thompson in his Mavs debut on TNT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uBn3yvDnf9
— NBA (@NBA) October 25, 2024
They hit 21 3-pointers, led by as many as 21 points and spoiled the debuts of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes for the Spurs.
Thompson himself had a solid debut with 22 points on six 3-pointers, setting a new franchise record for most 3-pointers in a Mavericks debut, along with seven rebounds and three steals.
SIX THREE NOW FOR KLAY.
LUKA LOOKS AT NADRAK AGAIN.
ENTERTAINMENT. pic.twitter.com/tpUNGeP5QW
— NBA (@NBA) October 25, 2024
Irving and big man Derek Lively each scored 15 points, and PJ Washington and Jaden Hardy combined for 22 points.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama, the reigning consensus Rookie of the Year, scored 17 points but struggled from the field, going 5-of-18 for San Antonio.
The French phenom has a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics with France, but has had a rough start to his second season.
Barnes also had 17 markers, while Paul had three points, seven rebounds and eight dimes with Jeremy Sochan and Julian Champagne chipping in with 18 each.
It was the same result for the Spurs in their first game of the season, just like last year when they fell to the Mavericks in a 126-119 loss at home.
The Mavericks will travel to Phoenix and play Kevin Durant and the Suns while the Spurs host the in-state rival Houston Rockets.