Mavericks Rally Late, Beat Thunder 105-103
The Oklahoma City Thunder (22-13) fell on Sunday night in Dallas, as Luka Doncic dropped 25 points and seven assists to lead the Mavericks (17-18) to a 105-103 victory. Paul George led the way for OKC with 36 points and five rebounds — but Russell Westbrook struggled mightily en route to nine points on a 4-of-22 shooting effort.
George scored the Thunder’s final 13 points and pushed OKC to a 101-96 lead with a three-pointer at the 1:59 mark of the fourth quarter. However, Dallas finished on a 9-2 run from that point forward and escaped with the victory when Westbrook’s potential game-winner from the corner failed to drop. The shot capped a second half that did not go well for the Thunder, as the team shot 32.7 percent after halftime and was outscored 27-14 in the third quarter after holding a two-point lead at the break.
Full Highlights:
George returned from a one-game absence to score 36 points on 12-of-24 shooting. Dennis Schroder pitched in 19 points, Jerami Grant added 10 points, with Patrick Patterson scoring 10 — his highest scoring output since November 30. Westbrook’s nine points on 18.2 percent shooting featured an abysmal 0-of-8 clip from beyond the arc. He shot just 2-of-14 after halftime and missed all four of his attempts in the pivotal fourth quarter.
The Mavericks came away with the victory despite turning the ball over 23 times to the Thunder’s 11 — while also watching OKC win the fast break battle 31-4. Five Mavs scored in double-figures, including Doncic (25), Harrison Barnes (16), Dennis Smith Jr. (14), DeAndre Jordan (12), and Dorian Finney-Smith (10).
The two teams will square off again tomorrow night in Oklahoma City at 7:00 PM CST on Fox Sports Oklahoma.
Stats
Highlights
Paul George:
Luka Doncic:
