by Jordan Fickling, sports editor
San Antonio, the defending NBA World Champions, narrowly bested the Dallas Mavericks, a team that made major changes to their roster over the summer.
On this night, Point Guard Tony Parker contributed with 23 points, Shooting Guard Manu Ginobili had an impressive game scoring 20 points with a 53% field goal percentage. Furthermore, Power Forward Tim Duncan obtained a “double-double” with 14 points and 13 rebounds. A double double is when the player obtains double digits in both points and rebounds.
With this win, San Antonio now moves to a 5-0 record following a championship celebration.
“It’s special. I think it helps you actually. Sometimes you don’t play that sharp because it’s the first game of the season. You have to move from the success of the previous season to the new beginning. But it all gets your emotions up so you want to get out on the court and do a lot of things, hustle, jump, run and win,” Ginobili said.
Dallas brought the fight to the Spurs. Their leading scorer was Point Guard Monta Ellis with 26 points. Dirk Nowitzki also contributed with 18 points and he was an inch away from taking the game into overtime.
“I love how the NBA season kicked off with this very competitive game. In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs and the Mavericks had a great series and I love that they quickly picked up where they left off,” freshman James Panagakos said.
With this explosive start to the NBA season, fans of the Spurs and Mavericks will have to wonder how will their favorite teams fare in the Western Conference.
San Antonio’s next game is against the Phoenix Suns, and the Dallas Mavericks will host the Utah Jazz for their next game.