The Oklahoma City Thunder put forth a supreme effort on the front end of a back-to-back set, and they will look to play just as well on the second side when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Oklahoma City dismantled the visiting Cavaliers 134-114 on Thursday night and now shares the best record (34-6) in the league with Cleveland.
The Thunder led the one-sided nationally televised contest by 42 points in the third quarter before calling off the assault.
Oklahoma City superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t overly impressed with the whipping.
“It was a good performance. We did the things we were supposed to do,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But for us, it was just another night of basketball, another night of competing together and letting the chips fall where they may be. It was nothing special. It just happened to be on TV. … The outcome was the outcome.”
Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and eight assists. It marked his fifth outing of 40 or more this season.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was asked if Gilgeous-Alexander was sending a message with the club getting a rare opportunity to be on the national stage.
“No, he just looked the same,” Daigneault said. “That’s why he’s so good. He’s like that every night.”
Luguentz Dort also starred by establishing a season high with 22 points, sinking six 3-pointers and serving as the defensive leader on a night when the Thunder held Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.
The Thunder have won four straight games and 19 of 20. The NBA Cup final on Dec. 17, when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, doesn’t count as a regular-season contest.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, have been tormented by injuries and have lost three straight games and eight of their past 10.
Luka Doncic has missed the past 11 games with a left calf strain, and Dallas is 3-8 without the player who finished third in MVP voting last season. Doncic has played in just 22 games this season.
Kyrie Irving (back) has missed seven of the past nine games, including Dallas’ 119-116 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. He is listed as questionable for the Friday game.
Mavericks big man Dereck Lively II (ankle) will sit out for the second straight game.
Daniel Gafford softened the blow of losing Lively by scoring a career-best 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting at New Orleans. He also collected 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Jaden Hardy added 21 points off the bench for the Mavericks, and Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 20.
Despite the recent swoon, Dallas is three games over .500 at the halfway point of its schedule and is feeling optimistic.
“You can’t really give us a grade,” Dinwiddie said. “I know fans are probably up and down every game right now, but at the end of the day we have lofty goals when healthy. Injuries aren’t an excuse. You got to go out there and battle and fight and prepare, and you see guys step up every night in different roles every night, which is hard in and of itself.
“But it’s an incomplete grade. Until you get healthy and figure out which nine (players) are going to be playing, what roles are they really going to have, string together 20 games, then you’ll know what you really have. We think we have something great. We don’t know.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd expressed similar sentiments.
“Play has been really good,” Kidd said. “Health has been poor, so you’ve got a next-man-up mentality. We’re putting ourselves in position to win games. When we’re healthy, we truly believe we’re one of the best teams in the league.”
The teams split this season’s first two meetings. Dallas notched a 121-119 road victory on Nov. 17 without Doncic, and Oklahoma City registered 118-104 home win on Dec. 10. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 37.5 points in the two games.
–Field Level Media
