SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (14-46) competed for much of their first game back from the All-Star break, but fell apart in the fourth as they lost to the Dallas Mavericks 142-116 on Thursday night.
That makes it 15 losses in a row for the Silver & Black, a record for the franchise. Rookie Malaki Branham led the team with 23 points and added a career-high 5 assists, and Keldon Johnson almost had a triple double with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Branham continued his hot February and drilled a three to open the scoring for San Antonio, then dropped a dime to Keldon Johnson on the next possession. Keldon drilled a triple a few moments later, a good sign for him as he works to regain his accuracy from deep.
Branham assisted Zach Collins on a layup, then got it back to Keldon for another. Luka Doncic got frustrated and picked up a technical foul. Branham hit free throws, then grabbed a loose ball and took it coast to coast for a layup through traffic.
Devonte' Graham started the game for his first time in San Antonio, and dropped it off to Collins to put the Spurs up 19-18.
Dallas responded with an 8-0 run before Johnson stopped the bleeding with a pull-up jumper from mid-range. Dominick Barlow struggled guarding Doncic, and picked up a handful of early fouls.
Keldon spotted up for three, but he spotted Charles Bassey down low and zipped it to him for a dunk.
Graham got a few free throws, and the Mavs held a 34-26 lead after one. Graham knocked down a pair of triples to start the second quarter, but the Mavs pushed in front by 11. This team hasn't won a game all year if they trailed by double digits at any point.
Branham made a few pull-up jumpers, then Johnson got it down to Collins with a mismatch for a layup.
Branham also passed to Collins for a jumper, then Keldon found Branham for an and-1. KJ threw a slick one-handed dime to McDermott for a layup, then finished an and-1 to cut Dallas' lead back to single digits. Dallas responded with a couple of triples.
KBD laid it up and in, then drilled a three on a feed from Keldon. The Mavs led 74-63 at halftime.
Branham opened the scoring in the second half with a driving layup through the teeth of the defense.
Keldon scored inside, then Collins, but the Mavs pushed their lead out to 16. Branham and Johnson each finished off feeds from Graham, then Branham got blocked but grabbed the board and popped it back in.
Rookie Blake Wesley pulled out a veteran move and bounced it off Luka's back, grabbing it and dunking it hard.
Johnson got it back to Wesley for three and the youngster nailed it, then stole a pass, then drove for free throws.
KBD hit a triple that made it an 8-point game, then answered a Luka layup with a floater of his own. San Antonio trailed 99-90 heading to the fourth.
Pop got T'd up between quarters, and the Mavs ripped off a 12-3 run to make it an 18-point lead and force a timeout. McDermott scored out of it, but Dallas pushed their lead up to 21 behind a pair of highlight plays from Kyrie.
Bassey scored a bunch in garbage time, and Branham drilled a triple that gave him 23 points. Branham hit Bassey for a layup, tying his career high with 5 assists.
Dallas just kept scoring, and by the final buzzer they had 142 compared to 116 for San Antonio. It was the 15th loss in a row for the Spurs, extending their record losing streak. Now they head to Utah for two games against the Jazz.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a road loss versus the Hornets, 120-110.
Malaki Branham had 23 points and three assists to lead the team while Jeremy Sochan added six points. Keldon Johnson finished with 21 points and eight rebounds while Keita Bates-Diop recorded 12 points in the loss.
The Spurs shot 38 percent from the field for the game and turned the ball over 14 times.
"It's never easy to lose or just take that. We're just trying to do better than we do," Branham said. "When we come back [from All-Star break] we're just going to get ready to get back to work. Two big emphases he [Popovich] said were rebounding and just our defense. We got to get up into guys more. That's what he told us. Think about those two things over the break."
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Icon Edition jerseys today.
LOCKED ON SPURS GAME PREVIEW
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. Dallas is on a three-game losing skid.
2. Dallas has connected on more three-point shots in six consecutive games.
3. Dallas is 14-1 at home when leading after the third period.
4. The Spurs are on a 16-game road losing skid.
5. The Spurs are averaging 108.3 points per game in their last three outings.
Stay here at KENS 5 throughout the season for complete Spurs coverage.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5