Luka, Ntilikina, (lack of) rebounding all stood out against Spurs

SAN ANTONIO – The Mavericks said sayonara to 2022 with a six-game winning streak.

And the rest of the basketball world is saying hello to perhaps the next player to join the hallowed LeBron, Kobe, Michael, Wilt one-named Mount Rushmore.

Luka Dončić has been astounding during the winning streak. He’s averaged 42.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 2.5 steals and he’s shot 58.7 percent.

“If he can play for a good number of years, he will be one of the great players, for sure,” said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who gave Luka a big hug at the end of the Mavericks’ hard-earned 126-125 win over the Spurs Saturday at AT&T Center.

The shot-clock of life is the only thing preventing Dončić from already being on the list of all-time greats. That and a championship or more.

What he did against the Spurs was classic. He had 51 points and nine assists to go with four steals. He made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to put the Mavericks ahead 126-123. He intentionally missed a free throw with 1.5 seconds to go and got the rebound to prevent San Antonio from getting any chance at a miracle last-second shot.

He had two rebounds in the final 1.5 seconds, by the way, the first off of Tre Jones’ missed free throw that could have tied it.

Basically, Luka is doing everything.

But there were other takeaways from the sixth win in a row and the fifth straight over the Spurs, spanning back to last season.

LATE-GAME EXECUTION: The Mavericks were up by 10 points going into the fourth quarter. They had committed just two turnovers to that point. They had three of them in the fourth quarter, which still isn’t bad. But the one that came with 9 seconds to go against the Spurs’ swarming full-court trap could have been very costly. Jeremy Sochan missed a finger roll on the ensuing break, and the Mavericks survived. But handling the late-game frenzied defenses teams are throwing at the Mavericks has been a periodic problem in close games. “We have to be better executing late,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We turned the ball over. The jump ball is a new thing in this defense late in the game. Everybody’s going for the jump ball, so we just got to secure the ball and then it becomes a free throw game.”

PICKING AT NITS: There were a couple of areas that were concerning in the win. First, the Mavericks had a dismal rebounding night, getting hammered 48-26 on the boards. Normally, that’s a sure-fire way to get beat. The Spurs had 15 rebounds alone from Jakob Poetl, who by the way is precisely the kind of big man that might work well in the paint at American Airlines Center on a regular basis. He had more offensive rebounds (seven) than the Mavericks (six). And the rebound off the Spurs’ intentionally missed free throw could have been disastrous. “We felt we wanted to go bigger to box out and we still couldn’t come up with the rebound,” Kidd said. “We fouled. But it happens. We kept our composure and we found a way.” Also, surrendering 55.3 percent shooting is not a preferred defensive method for Kidd’s team. Yes, the Mavericks were great at the offensive end, too, but against more talented teams, that’s not going to cut it.

FLICKER OF HOPE FROM THE BENCH: Frank Ntilikina was a spark off the bench with nine points in 18 minutes. He had a big midrange jump shot with 40 seconds left to make it 124-121. In addition, McKinley Wright IV had four points a steal and an assist in 21 minutes. He continues to show signs that he can handle a bigger role. Still, overall, the bench was not a plus on this night. “Frank was great. Big basket, too,” Kidd said. “Turned down the three to take the midrange that helped us keep the lead.”

Twitter: @ESefko