De'Aaron Fox narrowly missed a triple-double as he recorded 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs broke their Dallas daze.
De’Aaron Fox came down the home stretch of the Spurs’ 126-116 victory over Dallas on Wednesday with a special night in his sights. He had 32 points and 11 assists entering the final two minutes, needing only a pair of rebounds to secure his first triple-double in silver in black.
The Mavericks would not cooperate. “They didn’t miss the last six shots that they took,” Fox said. Fox is only exaggerating slightly. Naji Marshall clanged a 3-pointer on the Mavs’ final meaningless possession, which Fox tracked down for his ninth rebound. Triple-double denied, Fox instead had to settle only for his best statistical night in a Spurs uniform. SPURS NATION: The best Spurs coverage in Alamo City, delivered to your inbox The 32 points were two more than his previous Spurs high, set in a win at Washington on Feb. 10. The nine rebounds were also the most of Fox’s short Spurs tenure. The 11 assists were second-most behind the 14 Fox recorded in against Atlanta on Feb. 5, his first with the Spurs following the blockbuster trade from Sacramento. “His assertiveness was great,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “I thought he lived in the paint and was having a great balance of imposing his will individually and then also getting guys the ball.” With the victory, the Spurs exacted a modicum of revenge — if one could call it that — against a short-handed Mavericks team that nevertheless had defeated them by four points two nights earlier. Dallas added an extra player to their active list Wednesday, with two-way player Brandon Williams coming off the injured list to give Mavericks nine. After a sluggish start that included more turnovers than field goals in the first quarter, the Spurs eventually disposed of pesky Dallas. Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan each added 18 points off the bench for the Spurs, while Devin Vassell chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds. “I was very happy with the response,” Mitch Johnson said. “It took a little bit of time to feel good about it because the game was back and forth, but the response was great.” By game’s end, Fox was on triple-double watch. It was too bad the Mavericks got hot at just the right time to stymie it. “I’m like, ‘At some point they got to miss,’ but no,” Fox said. “It would have been great to get that, but it is what it is.” Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s victory, which improved the Spurs to 27-37: 1. Enjoy what is left of Fox’s season Fox’s short time with the Spurs has come with a couple of regrets. One involves the loss of Victor Wembanyama, who has not played since being diagnosed with a blood clot issue at the All-Star break. The other involves Fox’s own medical chart. “Obviously, I would love to have all five of my fingers,” Fox said. The shifty guard has been playing with a dislocated left pinky since the second day of fall camp in Sacramento. He tapes the little finger to the ring finger for games. Fox plans to have surgery to address the issue, perhaps as soon as next week when the Spurs visit Los Angeles. If that happens, this weekend’s home back-to-back against Charlotte and New Orleans would mark the final games of his season. Throughout the season, Fox has tried not to use his jerry-rigged shooting hand as an excuse for off nights, noting he’s had some big games that way. “I scored 60 with it, and then I had 49 the next night with it,” Fox said, referring to back-to-back games against Minnesota and Utah in November. “So you try to just get through it.” If Fox does opt for season-ending surgery, his teammates will understand. “I want De’Aaron to make the decision that's going to ultimately be best for him,” Vassell said. 'I want to make sure that he's good, that he's healthy. Because I know when he is healthy, he's going to help this team tremendously.” 2. More heart to break Mavs hex After the Mavericks defeated the Spurs on Monday with a collection of eight active players all 6-10 or under, Klay Thompson summed up the victory this way: “Heart over height.” Having lost 14 of 15 against the Mavs heading into Wednesday’s rematch, the Spurs snapped their Dallas daze by upping their own heart factor. Keldon Johnson was naturally at the center of it, diving for loose balls and infecting others with his communicable version of energy. “I feel as though I've been playing pretty well, pretty consistent, but my energy has been consistent,” said Johnson, who leads the NBA in bench scoring since the All-Star break. “That's been the main thing.” Unlike two nights earlier, many of Johnson’s teammates chose to join the fray. One such moment came during the Spurs’ fourth-quarter run, when Julian Champagnie hit the deck chasing down a steal near midcourt, corralling the ball and whipping it ahead to Fox in one falling motion. Fox dished to Keldon Johnson for a dunk, which gave the Spurs a 14-point edge. “Those are winning plays, plays that are great team uplifting moments,” Mitch Johnson said. “They just give energy to the rest of the team.” 3. Barnes stays efficient Barnes went 6 of 7 against Dallas, his only missed shot coming on a contested baseline runner at the halftime horn. That came a game after he went 12 of 14 on his way to 29 points in Monday’s loss to the Mavericks. For those among us not arithmetically inclined, that made Barnes 18 of 21 in the two-game home series with the Mavs. RELATED: Barnes has impressive 48 hours on and off court for Spurs The Spurs, for their part, are not surprised by Barnes’ recent run of efficiency. “It shows every morning,” Vassell said. “He's in here, probably the first one in getting shots up and just showing the consistency. He's a pro's pro, and he's helped us a lot this year. Being the type of pro that he is, those games aren't a surprise to anybody who sees it every day.” Wednesday marked Barnes’ fourth straight game scoring in double figures. He has hit at least half of his shots in six consecutive games. In March, Barnes is averaging 14 points while attempting eight field goals per game. “I think it hasn’t been surprising given his level of professionalism and consistency,” Mitch Johnson said. “When you see his play and his steadiness, it’s very connected. It makes sense.”
Mavericks De'aaron Fox Spurs The Spurs Fox Minnesota NBA Mitch Johnson Naji Marshall Keldon Johnson Devin Vassell Barnes Victor Wembanyama Brandon Williams Jeremy Sochan Julian Champagnie Klay Thompson Sacramento Alamo City Washington Atlanta Los Angeles Barnes Charlotte New Orleans Utah All-Star Break SPURS NATION
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