Any coach worth his salt will remind everyone that his players on the bench are just as important as his starters.
That certainly was the case for the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night as they fell behind by 20 points before getting new life pumped into them by their bench. The results: The Mavs were able to ease out of American Airlines Center with a big sigh of relief, 104-99, triumph over the San Antonio Spurs in front of a sellout crowd of 19,228.
Reserve guard Jalen Brunson (19 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and backup center Maxi Kleber (12 points, 10 rebounds, career-high tying six blocks) were the power sources the Mavs used to run their won-loss record to 3-1 heading into Friday night’s game in Denver.