‘Doing Whatever The Game Requires’: Dallas Mavericks Beat Oklahoma City Thunder 97-87 As Sergio De Larrea Dishes 14 Assists

LAS VEGAS — The Dallas Mavericks rallied from an early deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-87 on Thursday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center, evening their Las Vegas Summer League record at 2-2.

Digging Out Of An Early Hole

Facing a quick deficit in the first quarter, Mavericks rookie Vsevolod Ishchenko opened the scoring with a driving layup, but Oklahoma City answered with a 5-0 run to push its lead to 9-2.

Ishchenko settled the offense from there. He drew a shooting foul with a head fake on the offensive glass and made a free throw worth 2 points under the NBA’s new one free throw rule, borrowed from the G League to speed up play, then grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed the ball ahead to John Poulakidas for a 3-pointer.

Sergio De Larrea and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu built off that momentum with a pair of alley-oops. Akobundu-Ehiogu carried over the form he showed Monday against Memphis, where he threw down 5 dunks, several off De Larrea feeds.

“There aren’t too many passes that he can’t catch,” Mavericks Summer League coach Joe Boylan said. “I think that synergy between him and Sergio is very real, and it was impressive to watch from the sidelines. You could even hear players checking into the game and standing on the sideline saying, ‘Wow,’ after some of those plays.”

De Larrea said the connection has become second nature.

“He catches the ball so high,” De Larrea said. “He even tells me, ‘Higher, higher,’ and I tell him, ‘I can’t throw it any higher.’ He’s a great teammate, and his athleticism is really impressive. Today he dominated the game on both ends of the floor.”

Against the Thunder, Akobundu-Ehiogu opened with a two-handed lob jam out of the pick-and-roll, then connected with De Larrea again on the next possession for a second slam. After another Oklahoma City miss, Ishchenko pushed the pace and threw a 45-foot pass toward the rim, where Akobundu-Ehiogu cupped it with one hand and finished a third straight dunk. Oklahoma City stayed within striking distance, getting open looks around the basket and from 3-point range to answer the Dallas run.

Dallas Takes Control

Dallas led just 49-45 at halftime before opening the third quarter with a 7-0 run, then pulled away behind 4 3-pointers in the frame to take a 14-point lead into the fourth.

“We shared the ball really well, and we took advantage of what the defense gave us,” De Larrea said. “Basketball is a game of advantages, and that’s what we tried to do throughout the game.”

Dallas’ lead grew to as many as 22 points, though Oklahoma City cut it to 6 with 3:42 left. Darin Green Jr. answered with a left-wing 3-pointer, and De Larrea and Akobundu-Ehiogu connected on 2 more alley-oops to put the game away.

Boylan pointed to the numbers behind the win.

“We had 25 assists today in a 40-minute game,” Boylan said. “We crashed the offensive glass. Defensively, we held them to 40% shooting. That’s the team we want to be every night.”

Poulakidas Answers A Slow Start

Poulakidas had struggled through his first three Summer League games. He closed this one with 19 points and 5 3-pointers, adding blocks and steals in the fourth quarter as Dallas closed it out.

“Just like I’ve said before, I kept my head down and kept working,” Poulakidas said. “I know what I can do on the basketball court. The first three games weren’t what I wanted them to be, but that’s basketball. All you can do is move on to the next play … I’ve just got to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

Boylan called it one of Poulakidas’ best two-way performances of the summer.

“What really stood out was his care factor and his competitiveness on the defensive end,” Boylan said. “His shooting is something where, honestly, every time he lets it go, I think it’s going in. It’s been a luxury these last two games having both Darin Green Jr. and John on the floor because it’s difficult for defenses. They’re trying to protect the rim with K.O. rolling while also respecting two elite shooters on the perimeter, all while Sergio is making the right read every time.”

Poulakidas credited De Larrea for setting up Dallas’ shooters.

“He’s always looking to create for other people before himself,” Poulakidas said. “When you have a player like that on the floor, basketball becomes a whole lot easier for everybody else.”

Who Played Well?

Akobundu-Ehiogu finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks on a night defined by highlight dunks. De Larrea scored just 2 points but recorded 9 rebounds and a game-high 14 assists — a total reached in a Summer League game by only 4 other players in history: Marcus Williams (17 assists in 2009), Larry Drew II (16 assists in 2015), Brandon Knight (2012), Brandon Jennings (2009), and Jonny Flynn (2009).

“He completely controlled the game,” Boylan said. “It’s so impressive when you can do that without scoring. That’s the type of player guys want to play with. You saw the lobs to K.O. You saw the lobs to Tobi. He was finding shooters. He’s just a really unselfish player who does whatever the game requires. I don’t think he’s out there hunting statistics, which makes it even more impressive that he finished with 14 assists.”

Green Jr. finished with 18 points on 4 3-pointers, Ishchenko added 12 points and 7 rebounds, Jaden Springer scored 11, and Tobi Lawal added 10 off the bench. Brooks Barnhizer led Oklahoma City with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Dallas played without Morez Johnson Jr. and Ryan Nembhard for a second straight game, both sidelined with illness. Oklahoma City shut down first-round picks Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz shortly before tip-off after each had strong summers.

What’s Next?

Dallas (2-2) and Oklahoma City (0-4 in Las Vegas, 0-7 overall) both landed in the consolation bracket through four games, meaning each team will add a game against another consolation opponent this weekend. Oklahoma City’s next matchup was still to be determined as of Thursday night.

The Mavericks close Summer League play against the New York Knicks (1-3) at 7:30 p.m. CT Friday at Cox Pavilion, streaming on Prime Video. De Larrea said a win would carry weight beyond the standings.

“It would be great,” De Larrea said. “To finish 3-2 would be great for all of us, for the jersey, and for the Dallas Mavericks organization. I think it would be a really good way to finish.”

Boylan said Friday is a chance to close strong.

“Just another step forward,” Boylan said. “It’s nice having the early game because we’ll get a chance to recover and then come back tomorrow with an opportunity to finish Summer League strong.”