SAN ANTONIO – Victor Wembanyama’s final point did what his spectacular scoring and rebounding totals could not: separate the Spurs from a Dallas Mavericks team that had fought its way back from 19 points down. He made one of two free throws with 24.2 seconds remaining, and San Antonio survived Kyrie Irving’s last attempt to keep its winning streak alive.
The Spurs beat the Mavericks 112-111 at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, November 4, behind Wembanyama’s 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks. San Antonio won its sixth straight game to improve to 6-2. Dallas dropped to 4-4 with its second consecutive defeat.
The narrow finish exposed the tension in the Spurs’ victory. They had a dominant interior scorer, an advantage on the glass and a large lead, yet still needed Dallas to miss its last shot. Wembanyama supplied the final margin at the foul line, where San Antonio had built much of its earlier advantage.
Dallas described the closing sequence in its game report: after Wembanyama broke a 111-111 tie, the Mavericks called timeout and drew up a play for Irving. His 17-foot attempt missed, and a scramble for the rebound consumed the remaining time.
Irving finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but shot 9-of-27 from the field. Dallas had put the ball in the hands of its leading scorer with a chance to steal a game it had spent much of the night chasing. The shot did not fall.
Wembanyama made 16 of his 28 field-goal attempts and 19 of 23 free throws. His scoring was accompanied by seven dunks and two steals, while his 24 rebounds helped the Spurs win the rebounding count 61-50. Those were not separate contributions: Dallas had to finish possessions against his reach at one end and keep him away from the rim at the other.
The foul-line difference was especially striking before halftime. San Antonio made 25 of 27 free throws in the first half, compared with Dallas’s five makes in eight attempts. The Spurs had only one more field goal at the break, 20 to 19, but led 68-51. The scoring gap had not come principally from a gulf in made baskets.
That distinction persisted through the final buzzer. Dallas finished with 39 field goals to San Antonio’s 37. The Spurs, however, converted 33 of 39 free throws, while the Mavericks made 19 of 26. San Antonio’s 14-point advantage in made foul shots gave it room to survive a game Dallas nearly overturned.
The Mavericks had been close to drawing level in the second quarter. Daniel Gafford scored while being fouled by Wembanyama, giving him a chance to tie the game at 49 with a free throw. He missed, and San Antonio closed the half on a 19-3 run. Wembanyama reached intermission with 29 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, having made all 15 of his free throws.
Dallas’s deficit reached 73-54 early in the third quarter. Rather than disappearing, the Mavericks worked their way back and eventually took a 103-100 lead on P.J. Washington’s three-pointer late in the fourth. It was their first lead since a 26-25 advantage in the opening quarter.
Wembanyama answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 103. The change in score mattered, but so did the immediate response: Dallas’s comeback had finally produced a lead, and San Antonio’s center erased it before the Mavericks could extend it. He supplied 10 points during the late stretch described in the team’s account.
Washington finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Naji Marshall scored 22 points and collected five rebounds, while Cooper Flagg contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Dallas had production beyond Irving and enough second-half resistance to make the outcome uncertain until the last possession.
For San Antonio, Dylan Harper added 21 points and five rebounds, Stephon Castle had 17 points and 10 boards, and De’Aaron Fox scored 10. The contributions continued the relevance of the Fox–Harper–Castle combination San Antonio had explored in preseason, although Wembanyama carried the largest scoring burden against Dallas.
Mavericks coach Dusty May emphasized the Spurs’ defense rather than just their offensive star. May said, “They push you off your spots, every pass is tough,” describing the difficulty of finding clean possessions against San Antonio’s size, length and guard depth.
The result marks a different point in San Antonio’s early season from its opening loss to Oklahoma City. Six straight wins have followed, but this one was secured by the smallest possible margin. Wembanyama finished with 52 points; the last was the only scoring either team needed after the tie at 111.
