3 things we learned from the Mavericks 115-108 loss the Spurs

The Dallas Mavericks came into San Antonio with a little bit of momentum, having won 3 of their last 4 contests. The last time the Mavs squared off with the Spurs, they lost a close one at home, 97-91, and saw Dennis Smith Jr. score a career-high 27 points. Tonight wasn’t much different, as the Spurs went on to win, 115-108, after outscoring the Mavs by 9 points in the third quarter.

Smith Jr. finished the game with 19 points (9-17 shooting) and 5 assists in 28 minutes of play. Much like in his first matchup against San Antonio, a lot of Smith Jr.’s points came late in the fourth quarter when there was little doubt of what the final outcome would be. Regardless, it’s good to see the rookie consistently put up good numbers as he continues to familiarize himself with the league.

Here’s 3 things we learned from the game tonight.

Dwight Powell continues to bring the energy

I’m not sure what’s gotten into Powell lately, but I love it and hope he continues to keep his foot on the gas as the season progresses. Not only does Powell play better when he’s so active, but his teammates feed off his seemingly endless energy as well. And remember all those badly-timed lobs we saw early on in the season? It seems as if they’ve finally figured that out.

Powell finished the game tonight with 10 points (3-5 shooting), 5 rebounds and 4 — yes, FOUR — steals. He was also a plus-23, which was a team-best tonight.

Wesley Matthews continues to have his best season as a Maverick

Although there haven’t been many wins to show for it, Matthews has been really good for the Mavs this season, especially from behind the 3-point line. Against the Spurs, Matthews scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and nailed 5 of his 6 shots from deep.

After two straight seasons of struggling with his percentages, it’s good to see the Iron Man finally get it going. So far this season, he’s shooting 39-percent from deep, which is higher than his career average. Hopefully he can keep it going later into the season when the schedule lightens up. For now, let’s enjoy watching Wes shoot arrows at the bench every night.

Dallas has no answers for LaMarcus Aldridge — still

In their first matchup of the season a few weeks ago, the Mavs watched Aldridge score a season-high 32 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Tonight, it was much of the same, as Aldridge continued to torture Dallas, scoring 33 points (13-19 shooting) and grabbing 10 rebounds. Don’t you miss the good old days when it was Dirk Nowitzki taking Aldridge to school more times than not? It almost brings a tear to my eye.