Mavericks Overcome Injuries for 'Gutsy' Road Victory Over Thunder, Clinch Season Series

In a matchup featuring a shorthanded contender playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Dallas Mavericks (24-21) battled out a 121-115 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-8), ending a two-game losing streak. The victory marked the second victory for the Mavericks at Paycom Center this season, while the rest of the league has gone 1-19. Dallas now accounts for three of Oklahoma City’s eight losses.

“To go against this team four times and come out 3-1, that’s where I feel like we laid our hat on,” Kyrie Irving said. “So we know we can play with the best. Now we got to build on that consistency. The last few games, we have not been as consistent as we’d like. (It was a) gutsy win.”

Dallas played without Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Danté Exum (right wrist surgery), Klay Thompson (right ankle sprain), Naji Marshall (illness), Dwight Powell (right hip strain), and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain). Regardless, the Mavericks dug deep and pulled out a challenging victory.

Despite managing a bulging disc injury, Irving not only suited up for his second game in 48 hours but also delivered 24 points and four assists. He was a consistent presence, commanding significant defensive attention. Irving is filling the top offensive role amid Dončić’s absence, averaging 25.3 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in those 15 games without his dynamic backcourt partner this season.

“When I woke up this morning, I felt good. Got a great lift in when we got in late last night, so it set me up to prepare better for today,” Irving said. “I got in the gym almost four hours prior just to get my reps up and getting my massage and taking care of my body. I’m 32 going on 33 this year. So I’ve put myself in a great position to prepare for every game at the highest level and just live with the results.”

Irving’s efforts were supported by P.J. Washington’s 22 points and career-high 19 rebounds, who also added three steals and two blocks. It was the second time this season that Washington set a new career-high in rebounding at Spectrum Center, pulling down 17 boards in the team’s shorthanded victory in November. Washington was integral in Dallas winning the rebounding battle, 43-33.

“Just try to be aggressive on the glass,” Washington said. “I knew I could go out there and get as many rebounds. I thought I had 20, but I guess the league said it was a team rebound. So it’s all good. Obviously, when we get rebounds, it’s hard for teams to beat us. And, uh, we don’t allow second chance points. So it’s always good.”

With Washington in the lineup, the Mavericks improved to 3-0 against the Thunder this season. Against Oklahoma City, Washington averaged 21.7 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, continuing his success in this matchup that played a pivotal role in Dallas advancing past the Western Conference Semifinals.

“I feel like it’s a good matchup for me every time,” Washington said. “It’s funny seeing all those things like that on social media. But, like I said, they’re a great team, but I just love going against them and competing against these guys. I feel like I can post up, I can just play my game any way I can, I feel very aggressive against them, and it puts them in rotations, and it’s just really good for us on the offensive end.”

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points while shooting 11 of 14 from the floor, his most efficient 25-point game in the NBA. He provided a necessary complementary presence while the Thunder emphasized blitzing Irving. Dinwiddie’s efficiency helped Dallas shoot 39 of 74 (52.7%) overall and 14 of 31 (45.2%) from beyond the arc.

“Some of those looks came off of Kyrie’s pressure and energy.” Irving said. “They had to trap him, so I got some kickouts, and then some of them, I just made some shots.”

With seven key players sidelined, the Mavericks inserted two-way contract signee Kessler Edwards in the starting lineup, totaling seven points, four rebounds, and two assists in 23 minutes, making his first NBA start since March 2023. Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored a season-high 14 points, earning praise throughout the organization. Prosper trailed only Washington’s 10 free throw attempts with nine, helping Dallas to shoot 14 of 31 (80.6%) from the line, a night after head coach Jason Kidd encouraged the group to keep attacking after being at a heavy free throw disadvantage in a 115-114 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I thought Kess did a great job starting, being able to see how he handled the situation. I thought he did a really good job. I thought O-Max also did a good job coming off the bench. Guys played with joy and fun. It’s not easy to win here.”

Daniel Gafford chipped in 12 points and five rebounds while providing a necessary interior presence on a night the Thunder played without Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Maxi Kleber continued to play on a minutes restriction, but it was increased from 15 to 20, ending with six points and four rebounds in 19 minutes.

“Everybody had something to do with this,” Kidd said. “The energy and effort on a back-to-back was at a high. The guys played hard. They executed the game plan. I thought this was a character win, maybe the best win of the season – shorthanded, next-man-up mentality.”

The Thunder were led by their two perimeter standouts, Jalen Williams and Shai Gligeous-Alexander, but didn’t receive enough from the rest of the rotation. Williams racked up 33 points, seven assists, and four steals, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and dished out seven assists. Oklahoma City’s only other double-figure scorer was Jaylin Williams with 12.

Early Makings of a Battle

The Thunder open with an 8-2 lead after Williams sinks multiple jumpers. Dinwiddie tied it up 8-8 with a three. Irving sank a pull-up three to tie it at 13-13, but Gilgeous-Alexander responded with a pull-up. Dinwiddie was effective in the first quarter, scoring 10 points. The Mavericks went up 22-17 after Dinwiddie passed out of a drive, got it back in the post, then hit a face-up jumper while drawing a foul for an and-one.

“Just being aggressive. I thought he got downhill and created well for us. I tried to tell him every time we’re out there, just be aggressive,” Washington said of Dinwiddie. “We love him getting downhill and making plays, and just when he’s aggressive like that, it opens up a lot for our team, and it helps us win.”

Early on, the Mavericks blitzed Gilgeous-Alexander, requiring them to cover ground with defensive rotations, making it more challenging to succeed on the boards. Dallas settled into guarding straight up, trusting the wing defenders on the floor can hold their own when guarding the ball. Edwards did get a stop on Gilgeous-Alexander in isolation, pressuring a short-range pull-up.

After a late corner three from Alex Caruso, the Mavericks trailed the Thunder 34-33 at the end of the first quarter. Caruso returned with another three-pointer to kick things off in the second quarter. Oklahoma City’s momentum continued despite Gafford finishing a dunk. In response, the Thunder found Jaylin Williams in the paint for an and-one, making it a five-point game.

Numerous empty possessions for both teams occurred, but Aaron Wiggins ended the dry spell, extending the Thunder’s lead to 43-35. As the first half progressed, the Mavericks had to dig deeper into their rotation and use lineup combinations that were unimaginable weeks ago. Dallas even had Brandon Williams, Grimes, Prosper, Washington, and Kleber playing alongside each other. Dallas’ offense unraveled, with Williams and Grimes turning it over on spray-out passes, while Washington could not consistently attack the paint and succeed.

Irving, Dinwiddie, and Gafford returned to action with Edwards and Prosper on the wings. Even after the personnel changes, Brandon Carlson pushed the Thunder’s lead to 51-43 with a corner three. This was Oklahoma City’s chance to break the game open, even answering a finish by Dinwiddie with a three from Cason Wallace, setting up the Thunder’s largest lead of the night.

The Mavericks settled in as the game went on while Prosper and Edwards were on the floor despite their limited experience together. Regular impact players like Washington embraced being vocal leaders to help guide the unit on both ends while instilling confidence in them.

“I just wanted them to be comfortable out there,” Washington. “Just trying to be a leader for them, just trying to tell them that just when you get the ball, shoot it with confidence. We trust in you guys. You guys work on it every single day. So, for us, we are just trying to instill that confidence in them. Obviously, they don’t play regular minutes. So for them to be able to be out here and playing, I think it’s great for their growth, and they really helped us get away today.”

Gafford had a scary fall that required assistance from the training staff and, ultimately, a trip to the locker room midway through the second quarter. Markieff Morris checked into the game after Gafford, meaning every available center option that wasn’t injured checked at least once.

“That was tough because when he’s not moving, I’m thinking about Maxi’s minute restriction, and now it’s about keeping this guy stepping in, maybe playing P.J. at the five,” Kidd said. “It was good to see Gafford move and be able to come back, especially the way everybody was playing up to that point. It was good that Gafford came back and helped us win this.”

While Prosper continued to get to the free throw line by aggressively attacking the paint, Wallace answered back by attacking the paint for a layup after getting by Irving. This was one of Oklahoma City’s responses to Mavericks scoring possessions, but Prosper and Dinwiddie finishes off Irving’s passes, leading a 9-0 run.

“O-Max played well, especially in transition, getting us to the free throw line, settling the game down,” Irving said. “I think after that, we were really attacking the rim, and the rhythm of the game was in our favor. So we just kept attacking, and I think that’s what got us this win tonight, especially on the defensive end.”

After Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander sank three-pointers on consecutive possessions, the Mavericks fired right back, with Irving and Washington making one apiece to close out the quarter. The Mavericks managed to keep the game within striking distance, trailing the Thunder 62-60 at the half.

Dallas Mavericks Take Control After Halftime

Coming out of halftime, Washington scored the first five points of the third quarter, including a finish at the rim to tie and a go-ahead three. Dallas played through Gafford more in the paint, while the Thunder deployed a small-ball lineup, including a bucket in the post. However, it was Irving who set the tone again.

After a timeout, Edwards and Irving are pressuring full-court and get a steal, leading to Irving’s floater. The Mavericks often played out of Zoom action for Irving to get the ball and force Dort to fight through a stagger. He got the ball out and patiently waited for a three out of triple threat. Dallas led 74-68 at this stage.

While fighting over a handoff, Dort struck Gafford in the groin, resulting in a foul being upgraded to a flagrant two and an ejection. Jalen Williams was also called for a technical foul during this sequence. Irving made the technical free throw, and then Gafford made his pair of free throws, pushing the Mavericks up 77-68.

Irving later drew a foul on the Thunder to give the Mavericks a double-figure lead, 79-68, with 6:44 left in the third quarter. The momentum continued for Dallas. Washington exploited the Thunder’s small-ball personnel for a drive-through contact, then used a floater after a Veer step—Dallas led by 13.

The Mavericks continued to stay patient, with Irving as their guiding presence. While Prosper and Grimes played empty pick-and-roll, Irving made a 45-cut and converted a floater on the catch. Williams answered with a three. Washington later got to the line by aggressively attacking the rim and drawing a foul. Oklahoma City continued to answer Dallas with perimeter makes.

Dallas started full-court, trapping Gilgeous-Alexander again, but Oklahoma City quickly broke it for a Caruso and-one finish. The Mavericks settled back into sitting and guarding in the half-court. Dinwiddie sank a pull-up three to give the Mavericks again a double-figure lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander ended the third quarter using a spin move, then banked in a high-arching floater. Dallas was up 91-83 entering the final period.

Dallas Mavericks Ward Off Oklahoma City Thunder Rally

The early moments of the fourth quarter displayed the makings of a potentially thrilling finish, with Gilgeous-Alexander and Irving trading pull-up mid-range jumpers. However, Oklahoma City did not go away quietly by allowing defensive intensity to guide their efforts. Dallas turned it over on Washington’s transition throw-ahead pass sailing out of bounds intended for Irving. However, Dallas responded by simply getting another defensive stop. Gafford with an emphatic block on Gilgeous-Alexander, who tried to snake into the gap for a layup on the opposite side of the rim against Dallas’ ICE coverage.

A pivotal stretch involved Oklahoma City committing a take foul, leading to a technical free throw for Irving. Dallas was up 97-87. Gafford continued to make his presence felt as a rim protector, with Gilgeous-Alexander trying to dunk over him but failing to connect. Kleber checked in with 9:09 left.

Dinwiddie hit a step-back jumper in mid-range to push Dallas up 99-88 with 8:47 remaining in regulation. The Thunder stayed aggressive, especially with the Mavericks deploying a small-ball lineup after substituting Gafford, who played for roughly 36 seconds after checking back into the game before fouling again.

An 8-0 run, including a Gilgeous-Alexander layup against Kleber, was capped off by a pull-up three by Williams. Dallas going with a small ball lineup at this stage amid the circumstances was a proverbial green light for the Thunder’s top perimeter scoring threats to get even more aggressive attacking downhill. Oklahoma City cranked up the physicality defensively, preventing the Mavericks from getting into a handoff and drawing an offensive foul on Washington. There was some momentum there.

The Thunder continued to trust this defensive approach, which led to Dinwiddie’s miss. Gilgeous-Alexander then got two feet in the paint for a floater. At this stage, with 5:29 remaining in regulation, it was a two-point game. Once again, Dallas answered with a catch-and-shoot three—this time by Grimes. Jalen Williams fired back with a turnaround jumper in the paint.

Irving missed at the rim, setting up a chance for Oklahoma City to tie. Kenrich Wiliams missed from the corner. The Mavericks capitalized, with Dinwiddie getting to the rim on the other rim—making it a five-point game in Dallas’ favor. With Prosper and Edwards on the floor down the stretch, the Mavericks tried to blitz the ball while using their speed and length to recover.

“We just kept attacking, and I think that’s what got us this win tonight, especially on the defensive end,” Irving said. “We just kept our rhythm going, made it tough on Shai as much as possible. Obviously, Jalen got going a little bit. But that’s going to be part of the game plan sometimes.”

Dallas continued to execute well when Irving was blitzed. Dinwiddie provided an ideal presence as a secondary ball handler in clutch time, including driving down the middle of the floor for a dunk over Gilgeous-Alexander while Irving spaced.

“You watch some of their film against other teams, and they are just blitzing everybody, and the pressure is getting to teams,” Irving said. “For us, we know that we just got to learn from our mistakes. The last time we played them when we were in the Cup game, I hadn’t forgotten it, especially down the stretch when we started throwing the ball around the place, and we just got to finish stronger. So, the mentality tonight was to finish, but at first, we had to give that first blow first.”

Meanwhile, Kleber connected with Dinwiddie and Grimes for timely makes from beyond the arc and delivered a pivotal make of his own.

Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander did their best to challenge the Mavericks down the stretch but could not pull off the rallying effort. After Grimes split on a pair of free throws, Dallas led 116-112 with 28.0 seconds left. Oklahoma City ran the clock down to 9.6 seconds left after missing a mid-range turnaround jumper, leading to Washington grabbing the rebound and drawing a foul. With Washington making both free throws, the victory was clinched.

Dallas Mavericks Seek to Build Consistency

The Mavericks clinched a 3-1 record in the season series by defeating the Thunder. For a team that entered this game with a 4-10 record since Christmas Day while navigating overcoming Dončić being sidelined, Irving is encouraged about how this victory can be used to build more consistency.

“I’m proud of the guys, and to go against this team four times and come out three and one, that’s where I feel like we laid our hat on,” Irving said. “We know we can play with the best, but now we’ve got to build on that consistency, and in the last few games, we have not been as consistent as we would like. So we’ll use this as a positive move forward for us.”

A victory like this can help foster additional confidence in a shorthanded group. Dinwiddie expressed his excitement for what this Mavericks team can achieve if the healthy personnel tread water until their injured teammates return to the lineup.

“Right now, we’re kind of just holding down the fort,” Dinwiddie said. “You can make a starting lineup out of the injury report alone, and that’s tough, but it’s part of the season that we’re having. As long as we stay in striking distance, getting our MVP back is basically the best trade deadline acquisition anybody could have.

“We typically take off after the trade deadline; we always add somebody, at least in the successful years,” Dinwiddie added. “I’m looking forward to that.”

No Added Fuel for NBA Finals Rematch

Wrapping up NBA Rivals week, the shorthanded Mavericks will play a Finals rematch against the Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CST tipoff time.

The Mavericks didn’t admit to having additional fuel when facing the Celtics, downplaying the significance of seeing the team they lost in the Finals against last season. Instead, Washington conveyed how all games on the calendar are circled, which was a consistent theme from the team.

“Every single one of them is circled for me, the opponent, obviously, we know what happened last year, but it’s a regular season game, and we try to go out there and do our job,” Washington said. “No more. Just in the regular game guys, obviously you can go out there and try to get a win, but it’s a regular season game. Something for us to talk about.”