Spurs’ streak ends at 19 consecutive wins after loss to rivals.
There were just two games on the NBA schedule on Thursday night, but the Dallas Mavericks picked up a vital win in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
Tied with both the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns as the battle for the 6-8 seeds in the Western Conference continues to go down to the wire, the Mavericks were all too aware of the importance of this game.
Having lost all three previous meetings this season, Dirk Nowitzki stepped up with 26 points while Jose Calderon added 19 as the Mavs moved up to sixth with just six games left to play in the regular season.
While they did risk throwing it away late on, they managed to hold despite 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists from Blake Griffin, his first triple-double of the season for the Clippers.
Nevertheless, the night was won by the visitors, and they will now await results elsewhere to see if they can now put some breathing space between them and their two rivals.
Elsewhere in the West on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder brought an end to the San Antonio Spurs’ 19-game winning streak, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook teaming up to get the job done.
Durant scored 28 points while Westbrook added 27 to help the Thunder make it four wins in four against the Spurs this season, while they also move to within three games of their rivals for the top spot in the conference.
Spurs guard Danny Green insisted that his team committed too many turnovers which ultimately made them pay the price, but insists that they can learn a lot from the loss and they will need to do so if their path crosses with the Thunder’s again in the post-season.
NBA Results:
San Antonio Spurs 94-106 Oklahoma City Thunder
Dallas Mavericks 113-107 Los Angeles Clippers
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