Mavericks vs Thunder Final Score: OKC Wallops Dallas, 118-104

The Mavericks were eliminated from the NBA Cup Tuesday night after the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated them 118-104. This snapped Dallas’ seven-game win streak. Naji Marshall and Klay Thompson both had 19 points to lead Dallas and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carved the Mavericks up for 39 points on the Oklahoma City side.

Kyrie Irving got things started quickly for Dallas in the first quarter as he hit a three, drove to the hoop for a left-handed layup, and then dished the ball to the corner for a Klay Thompson three. Oklahoma City quickly countered this hot Maverick start with 13 consecutive points, forcing Dallas to talk it over. Not only did the Mavericks provide an answer of their own, but they did so in a resounding fashion, rattling off 11 points to the Thunder’s two over the following minute and a half. The final five minutes combined sloppy play (seven Dallas turnovers), poor decisions, and lackadaisical closeouts, leading to a 32-24 lead for Oklahoma City after one quarter.

The second quarter continued the Mavericks’ carelessness early before Spencer Dinwiddie and Irving steadied the ship. The deficit for Dallas remained between three and six for the majority of the second quarter as the teams went back and forth trading contested jump shots. If you didn’t look at the score, you would have thought Dallas was down 15 points. Despite all the mistakes, the Mavericks only found themselves down three at the half, 57-54.

Although the numbers were encouraging for Dallas to turn it around in the second half, the Thunder stomped on the Mavericks neck out of halftime and quickly grew an 11-point lead before Jason Kidd did the impossible and called a timeout. The onslaught continued into the second half of the third quarter as the Thunder continued to out-hustle, out-smart, and out-shoot Dallas to a 16-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the period. The final four minutes saw Dallas cut the lead to 12, only for Oklahoma City to end the quarter with a couple of baskets and a three by Isaiah Joe that put them up 90-73.

The Thunder opened up a 20-point lead quickly to start the final frame, but Dallas delivered their hardest punch of the game to answer. A few Gafford layups and a couple of Irving threes pulled the Mavericks right back in the game, as they pulled within 10 with 8:55 to play. As much fun as the Mavericks were for stretches in the fourth quarter, they could never fully close the gap and Oklahoma City hung on for a 118-104 victory.

Here are three thoughts from a disappointing Mavericks loss:

Naji Marshall is back

Marshall was one of the only bright spots of the night and kept Dallas in the game at times. It was his first action since Nov. 30 but it did not look like he skipped a beat. Marshall was 7-for-11 from the floor including 2-of-4 from three and had a steal to add to the mix. It was great to see him back in a Mavericks uniform with the same impact he had before he got sick.

Box out, close out, take care of the ball

Dallas turned the ball over 19 times, resulting in 36 (!) points off turnovers for Oklahoma City. That is nearly a point per minute that Dallas surrendered due to a mishap. Not only that, but every turnover felt like an egregious overextension by the Mavericks’ passers on failed home runs. The Mavericks are, historically, a low-turnover team when Luka Doncic plays, so these self-imposed handicaps stuck out like a sore thumb. This was a game lost at the margins, and while Dallas was giving the ball away carelessly they were also not doing things that players of any skill level learn in kindergarten. Closing out on shooters and boxing out are two basic pillars of defense and the Mavericks continuously failed to do either. Whether this game had actual importance or the NBA Cup manufactured it, the game felt worthy of high effort. The Mavericks did not agree.

Luka Doncic must set the tone

When your superstar comes out and turns the ball over three times in the first quarter, two of which were full-court passes that came up five feet short, that tells the rest of the team that they can be sloppy too. The carelessness and lack of aggression Luka Doncic displayed early, along with the poor shot selection, (he was 1-for-7 in the first half) reverberated throughout the team and the Mavericks could not turn the effort around until it was too late. This was a nationally televised game against a team with playoff history, it would have been nice if Doncic had come out with a sense of urgency. He did not, and the Mavericks lost the game before it even got going.

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