Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images San Antonio’s offense sputters in second-straight loss. On Friday night, Victor Wembanyama banged knees with Anthony Davis in the fourth quarter of the San Antonio Spurs game against the Los Angeles Lakers. That moment sealed the Spurs’ fate in the second game of a back-to-back against the Dallas Mavericks. Wembanyama and Devin Vassell missed the game, and the Mavericks beat the Spurs 110-93. The Mavs took advantage of the Spurs’ lack of their 7-foot-3 shot blocker by dominating the painted area. Dallas outscored San Antonio 56-32 in the paint and out-rebounded them 53-45. Daniel Gafford was a force in his 18 minutes off the bench, scoring 22 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and erasing 3 shots at the rim. Despite the interior struggles, Zach Collins led the Spurs in scoring with 20 points (8 of which came on free throws) and added in 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. San Antonio’s offense struggled overall, as they shot just 31.8% from the field and 27.5% from deep. They managed to keep the turnovers low with just 12, but couldn’t create enough offense to stick around with Dallas. The Spurs will get a few nights off before taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in their second NBA Cup game on Tuesday. We should know more about Wembanyama and Vassell’s status in the days before San Antonio’s next contest. Observations Charles Bassey got his first shot at extended minutes with Wembanyama out. It was an up-and-down performance with some defensive highs. Bassey failed to score in his 21 minutes but grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. It was an uneven offensive game for Stephon Castle, but his defense remained stellar. He had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Castle was disruptive off the ball and held his own against tough offensive matchups like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. That defensive ability is key to the rookie continuing to contribute even when he’s having an off-scoring night. The Spurs’ offensive creation outside of Wemby and Vassell remains an issue. They struggled to create advantages on the offensive end on top of missing shots. San Antonio only had 21 assists in the loss. Tre Jones was solid off the bench in his return from injury. He was asked to carry more of an offensive load with Wembanyama and Vassell sitting out, which isn’t necessarily his most effective role. Jones had 3 points and 4 assists off the bench. As he settles into lineups with more scorers, expect him to look better as a floor general and pace-setter.