Things looked bleak after the first two and a half quarters of this game; with the Oklahoma City Thunder trailing the Dallas Mavericks 70-48 with 5:42 left, the game looked all but over. The Thunder were not able to get any offense going and struggled generating points and converting on their shots.
But things began to click for the Thunder the rest of the way as they outscored the Mavericks 53-34. Ultimately, the 22-point deficit was too much to overcome and the Thunder lost by two points. Nonetheless, this was a great performance by the team that showed off their resilience and ability to overcome deficits and make things interesting, especially against a Mavericks team that were 8-1 in the 2022 calendar year before this game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way as he outdueled his fellow 2018 NBA Draft comrade in Luka Doncic with 34 points on 18 shots and 12 free throws. For the Mavericks, Doncic led the way with a 20 point, 12 assist and 11 rebound triple double. Let’s take a look at player grades.
