Fox has huge game in Spurs' win over injury-depleted Mavericks

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — De'Aaron Fox had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs snapped a three-game skid, beating the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 126-116 on Wednesday night.

Dallas (33-34) remained 10th in the Western Conference, holding the final spot for the play-in tournament by 2 1/2 games over Phoenix.

Fox was 12 for 25 from the field in his highest-scoring game since joining San Antonio in a trade with Sacramento on Feb. 5.

Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan each had 18 points off the bench for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added 16.

Brandon Williams returned from a one-game absence to lead Dallas with 19 points. Dante Exum added 17 and Naji Marshall and Kessler Edwards had 15 each.

The Mavericks beat the Spurs 133-129 on Monday to snap a five-game skid.

Dallas only had nine active players Wednesday as the team remains without Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis among others.

The Mavericks closed the first quarter on a 19-4 run in taking a 28-20 lead. Dallas extended the lead to 11 points in the second quarter while shooting 60% from the field.

San Antonio had eight turnovers in the opening quarter but only 16 for the game.

Takeaways

Mavericks: Williams returned after missing Monday's game with a hamstring injury. Williams was 6 for 12 from the field and played 28 minutes.

Spurs: Point guard Chris Paul played in 1,336th career game to pass Hall of Famer Gary Payton for 17th in league history.

Key moment

San Antonio took an 82-73 lead midway through the third on an 8-0 run capped by a dunk and 3-pointer from Fox. He had 11 points in the third.

Key stat

San Antonio is 4-8 since losing All-Star center Victor Wembanyama for the season on Feb. 20 due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

Up next

Both teams play Friday night. The Mavericks are at Houston. The Spurs host Charlotte.

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