San Antonio Spurs Grades vs Dallas Mavericks: Leonard Is Clutch

The San Antonio Spurs won their 10th straight game against the Dallas Mavericks in the AT&T Center on Wednesday Night.

Down the stretch, the Spurs did not go to their ‘Big 3″ down the stretch but to another option, Kawhi Leonard. With 15.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Spurs showed exactly how much confidence they had in Leonard.

The small-forward from San Diego State drilled a three-pointer that pushed the Spurs to their eighth-straight win at home this season.

Already in his fifth year with the Spurs, Leonard hit 4 for 7 on 3-pointers. His 26 points also marked the 41st straight game in which he has scored in double-figures.

LaMarcus Aldridge returned after sitting out the last two games with a mild-left ankle sprain. Aldridge mentioned he did not watch the Spurs much last season, but says that Leonard is playing at a ‘big-time level’.

Via NBA.Com

“(Kawhi’s) growing,” San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge said. “I never really watched the Spurs play too much last year. I don’t know if he played to this level last year, but he’s definitely playing at a big-time level. He’s taking big-time shots and making them for us.”

Aldridge showed no ill-effects of the ankle as he finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

In the final period, the game was all Leonards. He scored nine points to help continue the Spurs domination of the Mavericks.

Nov 25, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks point guard Deron Williams (8) is defended by San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

San Antonio Spurs. TONY PARKER. A. 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists — Parker was huge in the win against the Mavericks. He nearly notched a triple-double with just being two rebounds and assists. Solid game for Parker. He is in regular season form.. PG

C-. 6 points, 6 rebounds — And the shooting woes continue for Danny Green. Green hit just 2 out of 9 from the field (2 out of 7 on 3-pointers).. SG. San Antonio Spurs. DANNY GREEN

A+. 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals — Leonard continues to play at a high-level. Leonards teammates went to him down the stretch and he delivered. Showing the confidence in him, Leonard down the stretch and in the fourth quarter was huge. Nine points in the quarter and nailing a 3-pointer to propel the Spurs to their 8th straight at home.. SF. San Antonio Spurs. KAWHI LEONARD

A. 18 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block — Returning from a two-game absence, Aldridge played well on both ends of the ball. He was pitted against Dirk Nowitzki. He helped hold Nowitzki to 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor. On the offensive end, Aldridge was 8 of 17 from the floor.. PF. San Antonio Spurs. LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE

A. 2 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks — He was just 1 of 4 from the floor but Duncan still managed to play a great game. Rebounding, passing and also have two blocks in the game, Duncan was a force, defensively.. C. San Antonio Spurs. TIM DUNCAN

B. 20 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals — They were outscored 38 to 20, but the second unit did what they always do, defend, move the ball and just get everything flowing on the offensive end. David West hit his first three of the season with 0.4 seconds left in the third quarter. West finished with eight points. Manu Ginobili was high-scorer off the bench with nine. . Bench. San Antonio Spurs. SECOND UNIT

Next: Kawhi Leonard Leads Spurs to 88-83 Win Against Dallas