The San Antonio Spurs handed the Dallas Mavericks one of their more humiliating home defeats in franchise history with a 116-90 victory on Friday in front of a stunned-to-silence sellout crowd at American Airlines Center.
The Spurs put on a clinic from the start, reeling off a quick 16-4 run that snowballed into an embarrassing evening for the Mavs, who lost for a third consecutive game.
San Antonio led 27-12 after the first quarter and 62-26 at halftime behind the power of a 53-18 run.
“We played very poorly in the first half and they played great,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “Obviously we didn’t come out with enough force. The majority of the blame should go on me for not getting these guys ready to go. We had a crowd that was ready to get into it, but we didn’t respond well at the beginning. The second half was better, but at that point you are fighting out of such a big hole it is just very difficult.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich predictably downplayed the lopsided victory, especially coming off a recent 30-point loss at Golden State.
“Every game has mistakes, you win by 30 or you lose by 30,” Popovich said. “It happens to all of us. I could go watch the film and there would be all kinds of things we could improve, because it is a game of mistakes. There is never a perfect game, so it goes without saying that you can always get better.”
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who will be a starter in his first All-Star Game next weekend, scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half while all five of Dallas’ starters combined for 16 points in the first 24 minutes.
The loss wound up not challenging the mark for biggest home loss for Dallas, whose worst loss at home was 117-70 to Seattle on Nov. 25, 1989. For the Spurs, their 42nd win of the season was their 34th by a double-digit margin. All 13 players active for the Spurs scored and nine different players hit at least one 3-pointer.
“That’s probably the most embarrassing game I’ve been a part of on any level,” said Mavs guard Wesley Matthews said.
San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes, and reserve guard Patty Mills had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The Spurs (42-8) were eight of 17 from 3-point range after three quarters (12 of 22 for the game), while Dallas was one-for-eight after three quarters and three of 15 overall. It was so bad for the Mavs (28-25) that if San Antonio had gone scoreless in the third quarter, it still would have led by two points entering the fourth.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy,” Aldridge said. “We had to compete and execute, do things right out there. I wouldn’t say it was easy. I thought guys played hard and competed at the highest level.”
Mavs center Zaza Pachulia didn’t deal with the frustration well. He was ejected five minutes into the third quarter for arguing a no-call on a dunk, believing Spurs guard Danny Green had fouled him.
It came after several earlier incidents and moments after Pachulia and Green got into a skirmish chasing a loose ball. Late in the second quarter Pachulia and Spurs forward David West got into it with both players earning a technical foul and Pachulia getting hit with a flagrant 1.
Dallas actually scored the first six points of the third quarter as the Spurs missed their first five shots, but the Mavs’ spurt was quickly short-circuited and San Antonio pulled ahead 79-40 with 5:57 to go.
A few minutes later Mavs coach Rick Carlisle mercifully pulled the plug with a game at streaking Memphis looming Saturday night.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki was the only Mavs player to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds, until rookie forward Justin Anderson and forward Charlie Villanueva each got to 13 points in extended fourth-quarter garbage time. Guard Deron Williams had eight points and forward Chandler Parsons finished with six on three of nine shooting.
 
Celts stun Cavs at buzzer
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics could not hold onto a late lead, and Avery Bradley could not hold onto the ball. Ultimately, it did not matter.
Bradley recovered in time to make a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Celtics stormed out of Quicken Loans Arena with a stunning 104-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers after they rallied from five points down in the final 18.6 seconds.
The Celtics blew a seven-point lead with four minutes left, but Bradley’s shot against the team that swept the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs last season bailed them out.
“In the big picture, it does count as one, but it gives you a sense you’re improving and getting better,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “For us, it would have been disappointing to lose that lead and not come out with a win. They made huge plays late in the game, but our guys stayed poised. To score five points inside eight seconds is a good deal.”
The Cavs seemed to have the victory sealed when guard J.R. Smith grabbed an offensive rebound off forward LeBron James’ missed 3-pointer with 22 seconds left. Guard Kyrie Irving made a pair of foul shots for a four-point lead, but Smith fouled Evan Turner while the Boston swingman was driving for a basket with four seconds left.
Turner’s hoop pulled the Celtics within 103-101, but he missed the free throw, and the ball trickled out of bounds off the Cavs. It gave possession back to the Celtics with one final shot to win it.
Forward Jae Crowder inbounded to guard Isaiah Thomas, who started to drive before spinning and passing back toward Bradley. Bradley momentarily fumbled the pass but recovered in time to get the shot off with guard Iman Shumpert—the Cavs’ best perimeter defender—standing in front of him. “I knew it was there,” Bradley said. “It’s a great feeling.”
James scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, but was so upset he put in a rare postgame workout before speaking with reporters.
“It’s how we lost. It hurts,” James said. “It’s been a while since I felt like this.” When asked if he thought the defense covered Bradley’s shot well, James said, “No.”
“The only thing that can beat us is a 3,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that’s what happened.”
Thomas scored 22 points and Turner had 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists off the bench for the Celtics. Smith scored 20 points before fouling out on the critical play that sent Turner to the line. Irving had 19 points and six assists for the Cavaliers.
“There were more than a few mental mistakes going down in those last final seconds until that buzzer went off,” said Irving, who didn’t appear nearly as upset as James following the loss. “It was just a few bad bounces that obviously can be corrected by us.”
Forward Kevin Love’s run of bad luck against the Celtics continued when he left the game late in the third quarter with a bruised thigh. Love was bumped by guard Marcus Smart under the basket with two minutes left in the quarter and dropped to the ground. He was writhing in pain on the baseline for a few moments and had to be helped to the bench before limping to the locker room.
“Probably for 10 minutes there it was a dead leg,” Love said. “I don’t know what it will feel like (Saturday), but I’m optimistic it’s just a thigh bruise, nothing else.”
Love left the game with 10 points and five rebounds, although he had eight points and four rebounds after the first quarter.
The Celtics have won three straight, while the Cavs fell to 5-3 under new coach Tyronn Lue. Cleveland, which shot just 21-for-35 from the free-throw line, lost a second game in a row. The Cavaliers’ lead over the Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the East is down to 1 ½ games.