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The Dallas Mavericks fell on the road to the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night, 116-108. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder, amassing 32 points while distributing six assists. Josh Richardson was Dallas’ best player at 27.
The Mavericks, missing Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis due to rest or an excuse, were knocked down by an energetic Oklahoma City team. After trading baskets early, the Mavericks cooled off the pitch and the Thunder took advantage. The energy resulted in six offensive rebounds for Oklahoma City, which turned into second chance points. At one point, the Thunder played a group of players who were all three years or less of experience and they managed to extend the lead. The Thunder lead 35-19 after a frame.
In the second quarter, it appeared that things could stabilize as the Thunder shot the ball really well in the first quarter. Sadly, Dallas’ famed defense in recent games has remained in Dallas for much of the period. The Mavericks actually took the lead several times, bringing it to 11 and building momentum at the end of the quarter. But an offensive foul by Josh Richardson led to a Thunder three and Oklahoma City regained control. Dallas was behind at the half 62-47.
Dallas started the third again with a good pace, reducing the Thunder’s lead to eight. Then, a series of turnovers and poor defense allowed Oklahoma City to score at will and rebuild the lead to 21 points. Of course, the Mavericks rose from the dead, reducing the lead to 10. And, of course, Dallas lost those gains immediately because Trey Burke was on Gilgeous-Alexander, and then Willie Cauley-Stein thought it was It was his turn to shoot a three, so the lead was back to 17 in one minute. The Mavericks still found themselves down 15 points before the last quarter, 89-74
The last period was, of course, the chaotic feverish dream we all needed to end the night. The Mavericks had an incredible run in the final six minutes, closing what was at one point a 19-point Thunder single-digit lead. This included a Dallas coaching challenge that turned a key foul on Richardson and a lost challenge from Oklahoma City over a three-point foul from Tim Hardaway Jr. The Mavericks were terrible from the free throw line, missing six. in the quarter and they finally caught up as the Thunder found a late offense to break the seal. After attempting to foul to catch up, the Mavericks finally fell to Oklahoma City, 116-108.
Some ideas:
The pride of the Dallas Mavericks never fails to surprise
Understand that this is written before you hear any of the post-match pressers, before the team’s narrative is conveyed and reasoned.
Make no mistake: the Mavericks think they’re a much better team than their current record shows. And maybe they are! Heck, I’m ready to give some ground here because it’s been a tough season. But look ahead to the schedule. The Nuggets, two Clipper games and two Portland games. Trying to get cute and score a victory over a tough fighter Thunder team was a mistake. It was probably a mistake to rest both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Between the All-Star game and the unexpected break due to the terrible winter weather in Texas, these Mavericks had enough free time. Does anyone think the Thunder have a chance if Luka Doncic plays this game? Play your stars.
Rick Carlisle double
Not only was the organizational decision to sit Doncic and Porzingis down was questionable, but the end result of a nine-man rotation loss with precisely two rookie minutes for Josh Green looks absolutely insane in hindsight.
Role players might need a rest after playing some serious minutes and losing to a non-tanking Thunder team, if you understand my drift.
This game was a double-digit contest for most of the night and while I understand the Mavericks can and have recovered from the three-point shooting, I don’t understand how the rookies didn’t get minutes. It was a 15+ point game on some important stretches and Carlisle continued to deploy Dwight Powell, James Johnson, Trey Burke and Willie Cauley-Stein. If there’s a time for those rookies to get minutes, it’s a game like tonight where it looked like the Mavericks had ceded the game at the end of the first quarter. Hell, they probably gave it up before the denunciation.
I understand Josh Green doesn’t seem familiar with how to play basketball, in fact, and at this point I’m feeling pretty about him too, so I understand Carlisle’s reluctance. But playing Green or Tyler Bey can’t be worse than what we’ve just witnessed for periods of time.
Make your free throws
My previous two points might never have printed if veteran Dallas players could hit their free throws. There were 10 misses in an eight-point game, including six in the fourth quarter. Nine of the 10 were also from Jalen Brunson, Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. Not great at all.
Here is the post-match podcast, Mavs Moneyball after dark. If you don’t see the integration below “More Mavs Moneyball”, Click here. And if you haven’t already, subscribe by searching for “Mavs Moneyball podcast” in your favorite podcast app.
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