Final Score: Spurs beat Mavericks, 101-100

The Spurs trailed by nine at one point in this game and then opened up a double digit lead in a surprisingly good game. The Spurs turned the ball over 21 times to the Mavericks 10, so it wasn't the prettiest of games, but the good guys did shoot the ball well. The Spurs connected on 52.8% from the field and 50% from deep on a night where Gregg Popovich wondered where his offense was going to come from.

The Spurs got big contributions from their Big Three as well as Marco Beliinelli, who started for Kawhi Leonard, and Danny Green combined to score 28 for San Antonio. Tim Duncan finished with 14 and 13 while Manu Ginobili pitched in 20 points on 13 shots, including a shot-clock-beating desperation triple that seemed to get him going after shooting terribly in the preseason. Tony Parker also had several plays where he looked to be back in his 2013 form. The Wee Frenchman finished with 23-3-3.

Boris Diaw, who had a nice night on the boards (9) and found his teammates for six assists, looked a little out of sync for much of the game and finished 2-of-6 from the floor.

The Spurs held a nine point lead with nine minutes left to play in the game, but the Mavs charged back with a couple of Devin Harris triples and four Spurs turnovers. The Mavs took a two point lead after Dirk Nowitzki hit a tough jumper with a minute and a half to play before Tony Parker responded with a late-in-the-shot-clock above-the-break triple that gave the Spurs their 101-100 victory. Chandler Parsons, who was the highest paid player on either team's roster, missed a potential game-winning triple and finished 2-for-10 on the night.

This was honestly a game I kind of expected the Spurs to lose, so I'm pretty happy that they found a way to pull out a victory to start the season. And the game was pretty exciting to top it off.

For the Mavericks' fans perspective check out Mavs Moneyball.

Next up the Spurs travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Halloween night at 9:00 p.m. Central.