Mavericks Finalize Injury Report In San Antonio; Bagley, Powell Upgraded As Dallas Rules Out Eight

SAN ANTONIO — The Dallas Mavericks will be without eight players Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center, the team confirmed, though late upgrades to Marvin Bagley III and Dwight Powell gave Dallas a more complete roster than it appeared headed into the day. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CT.

Bagley (left shoulder impingement) and Powell (left hip soreness) both went through pre-game workouts at Frost Bank Center on Friday, as observed by Dallas Hoops Journal, and were upgraded to available. Cooper Flagg (left wrist sprain) is also available, along with two-way players Moussa Cisse, John Poulakidas, and Tyler Smith.

Klay Thompson Illness Pushes Scoring Milestone to Monday

The absences are significant. Klay Thompson is out with an illness that surfaced late in the week after he had not appeared on the injury report entering the three-game road trip. His absence pushes his bid to become the 100th-leading scorer in NBA history to Monday’s regular-season home finale against the Chicago Bulls — Thompson needs just 2 points to surpass Kevin McHale, who scored 17,335 points in 971 games. Thompson enters with 17,334. He holds the fourth-most three-pointers in NBA history with 2,895, surpassing Damian Lillard earlier this season, and has 184 triples off the bench this season — second-most in the NBA. His scoring milestone, along with the broader canvas of his career, will now have its shot at American Airlines Center on Monday.

Naji Marshall (left hip contusion), P.J. Washington (left elbow sprain), Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia strain), Daniel Gafford (rest), and Brandon Williams (illness) are all out as well. Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery) and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) remain sidelined. The Mavericks have had 357 total player-games missed to injury this season, a figure that has shaped nearly every lineup decision since October.

Two-Way Players Carry the Load

The shorthanded nature of Friday’s roster is not unfamiliar territory. Dallas has leaned heavily on its two-way players in the season’s final weeks, and the group delivered one of its better collective performances Wednesday in Phoenix before falling 112-107 to the Suns. Poulakidas set a career high with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 5-of-8 from three in his 11th NBA game. Bagley posted 20 points and 8 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. Flagg contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists on 4-of-18 shooting while tying LeBron James for third on the all-time list of 10-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist games by a teenager in NBA history with five. Cisse added 11 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. Ryan Nembhard distributed 7 assists without a turnover in 32 minutes.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said that body of work — not the record — is the proper lens for evaluating what this group has produced in the final stretch of a difficult season.

“The priority is the way these young men have played,” Kidd said before the game. “They’ve played extremely hard and played well for us. The two-way guys have done a really good job. You look at Ryan going from a two-way to a standard contract — that’s development. There are a lot of positives going on with us. Now it’s just a matter of being healthy and consistent with our health so we can be competitive.”

Kidd was asked to look back at how the season opened — Dallas dropped a 125-92 decision to San Antonio on opening night, with Victor Wembanyama posting 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks — and trace the arc of this group since.

“When you look at that first game and how we responded after it, the group has played hard,” Kidd said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t won enough games to get to the next stage of the season, but the group has gotten better.”

Jason Kidd on Ryan Nembhard: ‘If You Were to Do a Draft Over, Yes, I Think He Would Be Drafted’

The player Kidd kept returning to in his pre-game availability was Nembhard, who earned a standard contract from his two-way deal this season and has become one of the team’s most reliable offensive operators down the stretch. Nembhard became the first undrafted rookie to record 25 or more points and 10 or more assists with zero turnovers in the modern draft era, doing so in a 28-point, 10-assist effort at Denver on Dec. 1. He joined Jason Kidd as the only Mavericks to reach 100 career assists before their 20th game, getting there in 18 games. Kidd went so far as to say Nembhard would have been selected in the 2024 draft had teams been able to see what he has become.

“If you were to do a draft over, yes, I think he would be drafted,” Kidd said. “But he wasn’t. He’s taken advantage of his opportunity. When you look at his journey — from training camp, you could see his ability to play the game the right way and how his teammates respond to him. He’s continued to grow.”

Kidd said Nembhard’s development was accelerated by necessity. Injuries forced Dallas to call on him early, and the minutes he absorbed under pressure turned into something the organization is now building around heading into the offseason.

“We had to call on him early because of injuries, and he responded,” Kidd said. “His growth and the energy he gives us stand out. One of the hardest parts for him was that we played him so much early, but his development has been strong. This will be a big summer for him, and we’re excited about what the future holds.”

What Dallas Mavericks Are Walking Into in San Antonio

Friday’s game is the final road game of the season for Dallas — the last leg of a three-game trip that opened Tuesday with a 116-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers before Wednesday’s defeat in Phoenix. It is also the fourth and final meeting between these franchises this season, with San Antonio holding a 3-0 edge.

The Spurs beat Dallas 125-92 in the season opener, 135-123 on Feb. 5 in Dallas, and 138-125 on Feb. 7 in San Antonio, when Stephon Castle went for 40 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals. In that Feb. 7 game, the Spurs took a double-digit lead inside the first four minutes and led by as many as 28. Dallas is 35-64 all-time on the road against San Antonio.

The Spurs enter at 61-19, having already clinched the Southwest Division title and the NBA’s second-best overall record behind Oklahoma City. They are 28-3 since Feb. 1. Wembanyama is active Friday despite missing Wednesday’s Spurs win over Portland with bruised ribs. He must log at least 20 minutes against Dallas or at least 20 minutes in San Antonio’s season finale against Denver to reach the NBA’s 65-game minimum required for postseason award eligibility. Castle will not play due to right knee soreness.

Flagg, meanwhile, enters the final two games of his historic rookie season averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 33.8 minutes across 68 starts. He is the only player in the league to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals — and if he closes the season as the team leader in all four categories, he would join Michael Jordan as the only rookies in NBA history to accomplish that feat.

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