Mills helps Spurs rally to beat Mavericks 94-87

Patty Mills #8 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second half of play against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on November 30, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. AFP

DALLAS, Texas—San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich got a win more in line with his expectations on Wednesday night.

The Dallas Mavericks are just hoping a close loss signifies better days ahead.

Patty Mills scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and Kawhi Leonard added 21 points, helping the Spurs rally from a 13-point deficit for a 94-87 win over the Mavericks on Wednesday night.

San Antonio became just the third team to start the season 11-0 on the road, following last year’s Warriors (14-0) and the 1969-70 Knicks (12-0).

Popovich had criticized his team’s “lack of humility” and “lack of respect for the opponent” after the Spurs’ 96-91 home win over Dallas on Nov. 21.

This time, his Spurs – playing without three regulars – went 13 straight possessions and nearly seven minutes of the third quarter without scoring, but rallied behind Mills and Leonard.

“We dug down deep, didn’t moan or groan or whine, stuck with it and kept pounding away and found a way to win,” Popovich said.

Wesley Matthews had a season-high 26 points for the Mavericks, and Harrison Barnes added 17.

“I’m proud of this team,” Matthews said. “Frustration aside. Loss aside. This is two games in a row that could have been ours. This fight that we’re showing – this is who we were supposed to be all along.”

Dallas, trying to win its second game in a row and only its fourth of the season, led from early in the third quarter until an 11-2 Spurs run midway through the fourth quarter. Mills started it with a 3 and Leonard finished it with another that gave the Spurs the lead for good at 80-79.

The Mavericks simply couldn’t stop Mills when it mattered. With his team leading 82-81, Mills hit a 3 with 3:04 to play. After Matthews answered with a 3, Mills dialed up another and then hit a long jumper to make it 90-84 with 1:31 left.

“We struggled majority of the game,” Mills said. “But we knew that it was all going to come down to defense. We needed to get stops and that would create our flow a little bit better. I thought we did that down the stretch of the game.”