Mavericks thumped by Spurs, again, but Marvin Bagley III makes franchise history in debut

SAN ANTONIO — Stephon Castle kept his eye on the ball as it bounced high off the back of the rim and perfectly into the palm of his hands as several members of the Dallas Mavericks could only watch.

The San Antonio Spurs guard slammed the ball through the rim with one hand and he celebrated his new career-high of 40 points with a smile and scream. He single-handedly took advantage of a Mavericks team seeking to integrate three new players and produced the best game of his career.

The Mavericks lacked continuity and suffered a 138-125 loss to the Spurs on Saturday night, which increased their season-long losing streak to seven games.

Dallas Mavericks co-interim general managers Matt Riccardi, left, and Michael Finley are...

Mavericks

Marvin Bagley III, Khris Middleton, Tyus Jones and AJ Johnson were once part of Eastern Conference teams, but the results of Thursday’s volatile trade deadline brought them to Texas.

They joined the Mavericks for the first time since they were acquired in a three-team trade that led to Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum being dealt to the Washington Wizards.

Whirlwind is the best way to describe the last few days for the newest members of the Mavericks. Difficult conversations with family. Sudden flights.

Trades force NBA players to abruptly leave their old team and immediately report to their new environment, without much time to process the sudden change.

All of those factors were present for the new Mavericks quadruplet, but the Saturday’s game offered an opportunity for coach Jason Kidd to get a good look at the team’s newest additions.

Bagley was given the most opportunity to showcase his skillset and he had a positive debut in a Mavericks uniform despite his new team’s lopsided loss. He finished with a double-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes off the bench.

“I just tried to go out there and play my game and be myself,” Bagley said. “It was a lot of traveling the last couple of days, coming into Dallas yesterday, doing physicals and getting right on a plane to come (to San Antonio). But that’s a part of it. That’s a part of the job. I just tried to control what I could control and do my best to be myself.”

The first stint of Bagley’s debut was a sample size of his versatile abilities that led to his selection as the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He scored. He crashed the boards. He defended and made hustle plays, but most importantly, he fit into the Mavericks system seamlessly despite little to no experience playing with most of the players on the roster.

Bagley’s hustle was on display midway through theopportunity first quarter when he attempted a dunk over Spurs center Luke Kornet, but missed and stumbled out of bounds while San Antonio initiated a five-on-four fast break. The new Mavericks big man sprinted back and recovered just in time to position himself for a block on Harrison Barnes.

That was one of four blocks for Bagley, whose eight offensive rebounds set a franchise record for the most in a Dallas debut. He passed Chris Gatling, who grabbed six offensive boards in his Mavericks debut on Nov. 1, 1996.

Jones shared backup point guard responsibilities with Brandon Williams, who returned from a two-game absence because of a right lower leg contusion. While Williams shined offensively with 18 points off the bench, Jones effortlessly did what he does best: share the ball.

The veteran point guard added four points and seven assists in 16 minutes off the bench. Jones has been in the NBA for 10 seasons and has been traded four times, but he had an honest reflection of the experience following his debut.

“A whirlwind is a good way to put it,” Jones said. “It’s just been kind of hectic, especially when you have a family — a wife and kids. It’s always kind of a shocking call when you get that call, but it’s a part of the business. You just try to gather your thoughts. You feel the emotions, but try to take the emotions out of it the best you can and just prepare for new beginnings.”

While Bagley and Jones played significant minutes, Johnson played just seven minutes off the bench in the fourth quarter and finished scoreless.

Middleton was the only new Maverick who did not play because he joined the team in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon, while Bagley, Jones and Johnson officially met their new teammates in Dallas on Friday.

The rematch from Thursday was a classic case of David and Goliath. The Spurs were already established as the second-best team in the Western Conference, while the Mavericks represented a team still trying to figure out its identity, but destined for another year in the NBA draft lottery.

Cooper Flagg, the prize from last year’s draft, was positioned to have a fifth-straight game of at least 30 points, but the Mavericks rookie had a collision in the first quarter that limited him throughout the game. He held his left shoulder in the immediate moments and played just 26 minutes, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Flagg had back stiffness, which attributed to the off night.

Meanwhile, Castle recorded his second career triple-double with 40 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals to help his team outclass the Mavericks even with Victor Wembanyama posting a modest 16 points with 11 rebounds and three blocks.

The Mavericks have 30 games left, with 19 of them being on the road, which presents an opportunity for the restructured team to bond away from Dallas.

The new-look Mavericks weren’t the same team that suffered a loss to the Spurs in Dallas just two days ago, but the result of their rematch in San Antonio was all too familiar. They’ll will try to snap their losing streak in Phoenix on Tuesday, a game that Middleton hopes to play in.

Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2

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