Ellis drops 38 as Mavericks rally past Spurs

Ellis Lifts Mavs Past Spurs

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DALLAS — Monta Ellis matched his season high with 38 points and the Dallas Mavericks rallied in the second half to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 101-94 on Tuesday night.

Ellis hit 16 of 27 field-goal attempts, bouncing back from his 4-for-22 performance Sunday in a loss at Phoenix. In three games this season against the Spurs, Ellis is averaging 34 points.

Dirk Nowitzki collected 15 points and 13 rebounds and Chandler Parsons added 15 for the Mavericks.

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 19 points and Danny Green added 17.

The victory pulled Dallas within percentage points of sixth-place San Antonio in the Western Conference.

Ellis wasted little time putting Sunday’s dismal outing behind him, scoring seven points in the opening 3:05.

Ellis was assessed a technical foul midway through the third quarter, thinking he was fouled on an unsuccessful drive, the Spurs leading 54-53. A subsequent 3-pointer by Ellis then sparked a 23-12 Mavericks run for the rest of the period and a 76-66 advantage.

Dallas scored the first seven points on the final period to build a 17-point advantage. The Spurs pulled within seven with a minute and a half to play but could get no closer.

The Mavericks lead the season series two games to one with the remaining meeting this Friday in San Antonio.

Dallas is 33-0 when leading after three periods, the only NBA team undefeated in that category.

The 13 rebounds give Nowitzki 10,004 in his 17-year career.

An 11-0 Spurs run over more than 4 1/2 minutes late in the first quarter was fueled by Tony Parker (5 points) and Tiago Splitter (4) and put San Antonio ahead 21-11 with 2:46 left in the quarter. The Spurs converted six Dallas turnovers into 13 points while the Mavericks forced none.

San Antonio led by 14 two minutes into the second period before a Dallas three-guard lineup chipped away at the lead. The Mavericks pulled within 46-43 at intermission

TIP-INS

Spurs: Manu Ginobili scored seven points and played 16 minutes after missing the previous four games with a sprained right ankle. … The loss dropped San Antonio back to .500 on the road (18-18).

Mavericks: On Monday, Nowitzki’s wife gave birth to the couple’s second child, their first boy. … Richard Jefferson left in the second quarter with back spasms.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Host Oklahoma City on Wednesday to complete their second back-to-back within nine days.

Dallas: At San Antonio on Friday.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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