The Dallas Mavericks defeated Oklahoma City Thunder, 87-78, in the final game before the break from the stars, pushing the team’s record to 18-16. It was the first win with less than 90 points since 2016.
The Mavericks’ attack left a lot to be desired by Luka Doncic, who missed tonight’s game with a tight back (also known as a rest), while the team retained kick after kick throughout the first half. The team finished 1 of 19 behind the hoop in the first two quarters, but, fortunately, Thunder hit just 35 percent of the field. The Mavericks got a 49-42 lead for the break.
The Mavericks rounded the corner on the third when the lid finally lifted from the basket. After throwing five percent deep in the first half, the team hit 40 percent of their attempts in the third quarter (4 out of 10). The team kept pace in fourth place, pushing the lead to up to 20 points as a lower Thunder team failed to keep up. Encouragingly, the Mavericks did not give up, nor did they let Thunder spoil the game until late. Without their star on top of a horrendous night of shooting, the Mavericks were able to collect a victory. But make no mistake, this was an ugly game, so let’s go straight to a few observations.
The Mavericks fought without Doncic
Obviously. But the first half of basketball was one of the worst types of basketball on the Mavericks that I’ve seen in a long time. Failing 18 out of 19 points out of three was comically bad, and the team looked flat and sloppy. Dallas finally came out on top in the second half, but the Thunder played terribly badly that it didn’t take long for the Mavericks to move on.
The Mavericks desperately need a second shot maker, because they weren’t getting paid by players like Kristaps Porzingis or Josh Richardson in the first half. Porzingis was particularly frustrating until he eliminated two trios in the middle of the fourth half. This was the kind of game that Porzingis should have dominated since the jump, but it took him until the second half to make his mark. Thunder played so badly that it ended up working for the Mavericks.
Josh Richardson protected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander … and it worked!
Rick Carlisle’s defensive allocation is disconcerting. I don’t know much, but I do know that the Mavericks traded a historically elite three-point sniper to acquire Richardson because the team coveted length and defensive tools that were not currently in the squad. For reasons I don’t know, Dorian Finney-Smith spent more time chasing the best perimeter player on the opposing team, instead of Richardson, but today we saw the value of Richardson taking on the main task. In the third quarter, Richardson drew with Gilgeous-Alexander (who played the entire quarter), and the Mavericks managed to push the lead from seven to 14 points. Richardson even forced some turns on SGA units. Gilgeous-Alexander still scored seven points in the quarter, but it was a good example of why Richardson should take on more of the primary defensive mission.
This game was a complete failure
There is not much else in this. The Mavericks won by scoring 87 points, adding just 12 points in fourth place. The team hit 38% of the ground and a measly 20% of three. But the Mavericks won because Thunder was even worse. Hardaway and Porzingis led with 19 each, Richardson added 16, and Brunson scored 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in a penalty match. Ugly wins still count, especially this season. Two games over 0.500, baby.