SAN ANTONIO —
Postgame
The Spurs kept things close against the Mavericks, but lost 130-120 to finish the regular season 34-48 and secure the ninth-best odds in the upcoming draft lottery, provided they don't win both games in the play-in tournament.
RELATED: Spurs will visit Pelicans for play-in game | Live updates on seeding and draft lottery odds
Game Story
First Quarter
Dejounte Murray made his return for the Spurs, and quickly hit a step-back jumper before dishing to Keldon Johnson for a dunk.
Devin Vassell hit a pair of threes, then passed to Jakob Poeltl for a layup. Johnson got free throws, then drove for a floater.
Tre Jones hit a three off a feed from Zach Collins, as Jones continues to work on a weaker point in his game. Collins hit a layup, Jones got a floater, and Keita Bates-Diop tipped one in to put the Spurs up 29-28 after the first quarter.
Second quarter
Davis Bertans hit a pair of threes from the same spot to give the Mavericks a four-point lead over his former team.
Vassell tipped in a miss, DJ fed Keldon for a game-tying layup, then hit free throws for the lead. Poeltl fought for an offensive board and got the putback, then Murray stole the ball and dunked in transition to give San Antonio their biggest lead of the game at four.
Murray fouled Doncic, then picked up a technical, then went to the bench as the Mavs made it a one-point game at the stripe.
Josh Richardson hit a tough pull-up jumper, then Jones took a hard foul on the other end and Dwight Powell missed both.
Luka Doncic took it at rookie Joe Wieskamp, who played tough defense but got scored on anyway for the tie.
San Antonio went up four again, but the Mavs ripped off an 8-0 run and Pop called timeout.
Vassell hit a three, then Keldon got to the free throw line to take the lead back. Doncic flipped the lead back, then DJ hit Richardson for three, then Doncic knotted it at 59 before halftime.
Third Quarter
Dallas built their lead out to five before Dejounte hit a three and then found Keldon for a bucket to tie it at 66.
The Mavs ripped off an 8-2 run as Doncic made absurd passes to open shooters at the arc, and Pop called time. He kept most of the starters in, but Dallas pushed it to 15 before Murray bounced it to a rolling Poeltl for a layup.
Luka Doncic hit a logo three as things all fell apart for the Spurs, and Pop called another timeout down 18.
Dallas led 97-82 heading to the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
San Antonio put together a 10-0 run between the end of the third and the start of the fourth. Luka Doncic left the game with a calf strain, and San Antonio's starters stayed in the game for a bit.
Keldon Johnson drove in and scored, making it 9 games in a row with 20+ points.
Pop called time with a 12-point deficit, eight minutes to play and no reason to win, and pulled most of his key guys.
The Spurs cut it down to 6 with threes from Richardson and Johnson. FOrmer Spur Boban Marjanovic came in and hit a push shot to raucous applause. He threw a no-look pass for three that pushed the Mavs lead back to 11.
San Antonio kept scoring, but Pop closed the regular season with a lineup of Tre Jones, Joe Wieskamp, Keita Bates-Diop, Devontae Cacok, and Jock Landale.
The Spurs fell, finishing the season 34-48 and securing the ninth-best odds in the upcoming draft lottery provided they don't become the 8 seed.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (34-47) will visit the Dallas Mavericks (51-30) for their final game of the regular season.
The Spurs are 0-3 against the Mavericks this season and Dallas will attempt to sweep the season series with the Spurs for the first time in the 42-year history of the franchise.
In their previous game, the Spurs hosted the Golden State Warriors for the final regular-season home game and picked up a 100-94 loss.
In his return from back issues, Lonnie Walker IV had 24 points to lead the team while Tre Jones added 15 points in the loss. San Antonio was without All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, Jakob Poeltl, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell.
“When we don’t play well, it’s usually because we don’t rebound, we turn it over or both. In those situations, we stop using grunt, we stop our physicality, we play soft. That makes it tough for us," head coach Gregg Popovich said. "The best thing about this team is that they never give in. They figure out a way to get back into it and get the physicality back. But when you give up a quarter or a half that way against a good team, it’s tough."
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. Dallas is 21-4 when Reggie Bullock scores in double figures.
2. Dallas has won eight of the last 10 meetings versus San Antonio.
3. Dallas' Luka Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game in 13 career games against the Spurs.
4. The Spurs are on a two-game losing streak and are allowing 113.5 points per game in that span.
5. The Spurs are 2-18 on the road when trailing at halftime.
Stay here at KENS 5 for complete Spurs-Pelicans Play-In game coverage.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5