Mavericks lose Ellis to leg injury, lose offensive punch in loss to Spurs

It was a frustrating game for the Dallas Mavericks on so many levels.

First, the Mavericks lost to their Texas rivals San Antonio Spurs on Friday by a score of 94-76.

Second, Dallas lost shooting guard Monta Ellis midway through the third quarter. Ellis went down with what looked to be a knee injury, thereby robbing the Mavericks of their leading scorer.

Third, with Ellis' exit, the Mavericks struggled to generate any offense against the Spurs' gritty defense. The Mavericks managed just 15 points in the fourth as they finished with their second-lowest scoring output of the season. Dallas also shot just 37.8 percent from the field, including 23.5 percent from deep.

Playing in front of a rowdy crowd in San Antonio, the Spurs got off to a 13-point lead at halftime. However, the Mavericks managed to put together a solid stretch in the third and cut their deficit down to four, before Ellis went down.

Boris Diaw led the way for the Spurs with 19 points off the bench. The crafty Frenchman had the Mavericks on their toes all game with three 3-pointers and an assortment of plays off drives against aggressive closeouts. Diaw led five Spurs in double-digits.

The loss drops the Mavericks to just 1-6 on the road since the All-Star break, which is a concern considering that Dallas are a near-lock to play on the road in the playoffs.