San Antonio Spurs Fall to Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic in Victor Wembanyama's Debut

In Victor Wembanyama's NBA debut, the San Antonio Spurs couldn't handle Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

On a night where it was all about rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, it seemed like the San Antonio Spurs would only be showing off the other members of their young core in Wednesday's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center.

Wemby came to life late as the Spurs put together an all-around scoring effort, but Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were too much for San Antonio down the stretch of a 126-119 win for Dallas.

Wembanyama got stuck in foul trouble, which limited him for most of the night. He impressed with an early block against Irving before hitting a pair of first-half triples, and it wasn't until his quick nine-point spurt late in the fourth quarter when he made his impact felt once again. He finished with 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two assists.

Victor Wembanyama / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

As the rookie got things going, Devin Vassell (23 points) and Keldon Johnson (17 points, nine rebounds seven assists) paced the Spurs, showing off their improved games.

The Mavs, who didn't take their first lead until midway through the third quarter, were unsurprisingly led by Doncic, who finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists despite being questionable headed into the game due to a calf injury. Irving posted 22 points and six assists on 10 of 24 shooting.

Dallas also got an incredble effort from rookie center Dereck Lively II, who had 16 points and 10 boards in his NBA debut.

The Spurs jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first half thanks to an exciting start that had Frost Bank Center rocking. They had a 12-0 run at the end of the first half and seemed like they'd be heading into the locker room with a double-digit lead, but the Mavs had an 8-0 run of their own to cut San Antonio's lead to 68-64 at halftime.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the third quarter as Wembanyama sat after picking up a few more fouls. But just like at the end of the first half, Dallas put together an 8-0 run to take a 96-91 lead headed into the fourth.

The thrills picked up once the fourth quarter came around. With five fouls, Wembanyama entered as the Spurs trailed 108-103 with 7:12 to play. He was the reason San Antonio sparked its way back in front, as he had a quick nine points behind an alley-oop, 3-pointer, dunk and mid-range jumper.

But it was a late surge from Doncic and Irving that proved to be too much for the young Spurs, who will still need to learn to close out games.

The Spurs will take on the Houston Rockets at home on Friday.