The Mavericks defense suffocates the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama on opening night

San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama assisted Mavericks guard Luka Doncic in the post, hoping to take advantage of the size imbalance. But as the Spurs center turned toward the basket with a 7-3 lead, Doncic fended off the ball and sparked a fast break that ended with Dallas center Dereck Lively II firing home a dunk.

It was a crucial sequence in the Mavericks’ 120-109 win on Thursday in their season opener at American Airlines Center. Whenever the Spurs’ prized big man tried to impose himself on the Mavs, their defense stifled his efforts, displaying a gritty resilience that made it difficult for Wembanyama to find a rhythm.

Photos: The Dallas Mavericks start the season with a win over the San Antonio Spurs

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PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford and Lively were the Mavericks’ primary defenders on last season’s unanimous Rookie of the Year, who scored 17 points in just 28 minutes.

“It felt good,” Mavericks guard Klay Thompson said of his team’s performance in Wembanyama. “He is the future of this league. He does things that other players can’t do.”

The Spurs center said he will need a game or two to get into better shape after playing just two preseason games.

“Some moments felt a bit difficult at first in terms of fitness,” he said. “Obviously we had some really good basketball moments and we had some really bad ones.”

Wembanyama is the betting favorite to be named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year after finishing second last season. The first-team All-Defense player became the first rookie in NBA history and only the second player to record 200 blocks and 100 3-pointers in a season.

But every time Wembanyama touched the ball on Thursday, a Dallas player put pressure on him. It was difficult for the Spurs center to get comfortable with the ball on the perimeter. The Mavericks forced him to turn the ball over four times and he shot 5 of 18 (28%) from the field.

“We came back knowing we had to be more active and more vocal,” Lively said. “And just be more disciplined on defense.”

The 20-year-old Wembanyama, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and a league-high 3.6 blocks last season. And he improved in almost every statistical category after the All-Star break.

Wembanyama’s rookie season caught the attention of former President Barack Obama, who discussed the Spurs center on a recent episode of The Young Man and the Three podcast.

“It’s hard to take your eyes off him when he’s on the field,” Obama said.

Lively, who is listed at 7-1, is a few inches shorter than Wembanyama but made his presence felt whenever Gafford went to the bench. In the second half he stopped Wembanyama several times as he went to the rim.

“There are a lot of big, strong guys in the NBA and that’s how it is,” Wembanyama said. “Luka is really hard to get along with.”

The Spurs signed point guard Chris Paul to a one-year, $10.5 million deal in July, but the 39-year-old former All-Star has had trouble building up Wembanyama.

Paul helped several other Spurs get into the rhythm, but his connection with the Frenchman didn’t seem to be as fluid. The Mavericks’ perimeter players helped occupy Paul’s passing areas for Wembanyama.

The Mavericks will soon have a chance to see if the pair has found a groove when they face the Spurs again on November 16th.