Slippery situation is avoided
SALT LAKE CITY — The Dallas Mavericks won for the first time with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving sharing the floor Thursday, rattling off a 142-116 beatdown that kept the Spurs reeling.
The real MVP, however, was the maintenance crew at the American Airlines Center.
Arena workers toiled before the game to mop up condensation that had seeped onto the court during pregame warmups, delaying tip-off by 20 minutes.
“It was just very slippery,” Spurs guard Malaki Branham said. “If it didn’t get better, I didn’t think we could play.”
The American Airlines Center is no stranger to soggy playing conditions.
Two Mavericks games last season were delayed because of a leaky roof.
With nary a cloud in the sky Thursday in Dallas, that wasn’t the reason for the unwanted moisture Thursday.
The Mavericks share the building with the NHL’S Dallas Stars, meaning there’s a hockey rink beneath the basketball hardwood.
For players, the added wetness Thursday made the pregame layup line feel as if it were being performed on a slip-nslide.
Spurs guard Blake Wesley said he slid all over the floor during warm-ups.
“I knew it wasn’t my shoes, because I had just
worked out in my shoes (earlier),” Wesley said.
The Spurs retired to their locker room to wait out the delay.
They returned to suffer their club-record 15th consecutive defeat, falling to 14-46.
At least the floor was playable after the pregame mop job.
“It was good,” Wesley said. “I didn’t feel anything else after that.”
Vassell’s return growing closer
Shooting guard Devin Vassell missed his 23rd consecutive game Thursday while recovering from a knee procedure he underwent in January.
For the first time, he
appears to have at least a tentative timetable for his return.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Vassell could be cleared to play March 2, when the team returns home from the rodeo road trip to face Indiana at the AT&T Center.
“(The medical staff ) said he might be able to play then,” Popovich said.
The Spurs faced the Mavericks with two other would-be starters out as well.
Point guard Tre Jones was sidelined for the seventh time in eight games with a troublesome left foot. Rookie forward Jeremy Sochan, who participated in Allstar
Weekend’s Rising Stars challenge, did not play in Dallas because of what the team termed left quad soreness.
“Jeremy didn’t practice yesterday,” Popovich said before Thursday’s game. “I figured if he couldn’t practice yesterday, how the hell are you going to play today? So I told him he’s not playing.”
Gay has new look and a new role
The next and final stop of the Spurs’ rodeo tour is in Utah, where they will see a familiar face that nevertheless might look a little different.
Jazz forward Rudy Gay spent four seasons with the Spurs from 2017 to 2021.
He also left Utah’s win over Oklahoma City on Thursday after suffering a broken nose in a collision with teammate Lauri Markkanen.
Popovich praised Gay as “the ultimate teammate” during his run in San Antonio.
“He gets along with everybody,” Popovich said. “Everybody loves him. He’s been a good older head in that locker room.”
With the Jazz in rebuilding mode, Gay — a 16-year veteran — has found himself in a reduced role.
In 100 appearances since joining the club before the 2021-22 campaign, Gay has averaged 6.6 points in 16.1 minutes.