Date: October 24, 2024
Opponent: San Antonio Spurs
Location: Frost Bank Center
Start of the fourth.
Coach Kidd didn't say much—just looked at Zoran and pointed.
"You know what to do."
Zoran nodded, mouthguard clenched between his teeth.
No need for speeches. The Mavericks were up four, but the game was still in the balance. Wembanyama had come back in. The Spurs were going to make a push.
And Zoran was going to answer.
The first few minutes were grind-it-out basketball. Neither team could get a clean look. The Spurs ran staggered screens to free Devin Vassell. He hit a tough pull-up over Martin. Next play, they ran a wedge screen for Wemby, and he flushed it.
Tie game: 70–70.
Zoran's response?
He slowed the game down. Took the ball out of the backcourt, called a high double screen with Powell and Klay. As soon as Sochan went under both, Zoran rose from 26 feet.
Bang.
The bench jumped. Klay stood up and shouted, "Talk to him!"
Zoran didn't.
He just jogged back on defense like it was routine.
Two minutes left.
Mavs up 81–78.
Wemby tried to isolate Powell, but Zoran rotated early, swiped the ball clean off a lazy behind-the-back dribble. He darted down the court, two-on-one break with Martin trailing.
Most rookies would've forced a layup.
Zoran tossed a slick bounce pass behind him in stride. Martin caught, rose, and hammered it home.
That was the backbreaker.
Final score: Mavericks 88, Spurs 81.
Zoran's line:
20 points (8-9 FG, 2-2 3PT, 2-2 FT)
8 assists
3 steals
+13 plus-minus in 24 minutes
Postgame, media didn't swarm him. Not yet. They were too focused on Wemby's stat line, on Klay's comeback night.
But the coaching staff noticed.
Kidd pulled him aside.
"Keep playing like this, and I don't care who's coming back—we're not sending you anywhere."
Zoran nodded once.
Inside, though, the fire roared.