As they came up just short of a monster upset for the second time in 10 days against San Antonio, there were two possible explanations for why the Mavericks cratered down the stretch.
Either they ran out of manpower, which is what they choose to believe after a couple of key players hit their minutes restrictions and another, Seth Curry, left with an injury.
Or, the Spurs toyed with them for three quarters, then turned it on at winning time.
Either way, the Mavericks saw a hard-fought game go down the drain as Patty Mills and Kawhi Leonard fueled a comeback that earned the Spurs a 94-87 victory, their 11th road win without a loss this season.