Aldridge, Gasol lead Spurs past Mavericks

SAN ANTONIO — LaMarcus Aldridge scored a season-high 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks 115-108 on Monday at the AT&T Center.The Spurs led just 92-91 with 4:35 to play in a back-and-forth game before a 10-0 run over the ensuing 2 1/2 minutes created the space they needed for the win.A four-point play by Pau Gasol with 1:30 and a layup and a free throw by Aldridge on the following possession put away the determined Mavericks.Gasol added a season-high 25 points for the Spurs (13-7). Danny Green, Patty Mills and Kyle Anderson scored 12 points each, and Bryn Forbes poured in 11 points. Anderson also had 10 rebounds for San Antonio.Wesley Matthews and Dennis Smith Jr. led the Mavericks (5-16) with 19 points apiece. J.J. Barea added 16 points, and Devin Harris and Harrison Barnes contributed 13 each for Dallas, which also got 11 points from Dirk Nowitzki and 10 from Dwight Powell.Dallas roared back from a 19-12 deficit with 4:50 to play in the first quarter via an 18-2 run bridging the first and second period to assume a 30-21 lead. The Mavericks’ advantage grew to as many as 13 points in the second quarter before San Antonio closed the half with a 9-3 run, forcing Dallas to settle for a 53-46 lead at intermission.Aldridge led all scorers with 18 points in the first half. Harris led the Mavericks with 11 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.San Antonio opened the third quarter with a 15-5 run that put the Spurs back in front at 61-58. The Spurs led by as many as nine points before the Mavericks closed to within 77-75 on Barea’s 3-pointer with 32 seconds to play in the third quarter.The contest featured the return to the courts by San Antonio’s 35-year-old point guard Tony Parker, who had missed the first 19 games of the season because of a quad injury he sustained in the playoffs last season. Parker scored six points on 3-of-7 shooting and added four assists in 15 minutes.NOTES: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was tossed from the game at the 7:25 mark of the second quarter after coming on the court to vehemently argue a referee’s foul call against F Kyle Anderson. It was Popovich’s fourth ejection in 20 games this season. … Both teams were assessed delay-of-game warnings for being tardy to the court for the beginning of the second half. … The Spurs announced just prior to game time that reserve F Rudy Gay would not play because of a sore right heel. … All four of the meetings between these two Lone Star State rivals will be played before Christmas this season. … Spurs F LaMarcus Aldridge was born in Dallas, attended Seagoville High School, and went on to play his college ball at the University of Texas. … Mavericks G Wesley Matthews was born in San Antonio, and his father, Wes Matthews, played for the Spurs in 1985-86.