When the Dallas Mavericks fell down by 24 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, pretty much everybody figured the game was over … everybody except the Mavs themselves.
Led by Luka Doncic’s historic’s stat line of 36 points, 15 rebounds, 18 assists, two blocks and two steals, the Mavs put together an NBA-record 30-0 run to come all the way back and capture a 117-111 lead with a little over four minutes remaining. The excitement was short-lived, though, as OKC finished on a 15-3 run to win the game, 126-120.
Despite the second consecutive loss, the Mavs are encouraged by the grit and determination that was displayed on a second night of a back-to-back while being short-handed without Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dante Exum.
“I think when you look at the character of the team displayed there for the whole game, just understanding that with Luka [Doncic] they are going to take the ball out of his hands … I thought the guys did a great job there at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth to take those rhythm shots,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said.
“I think [Dereck] Lively did a great job getting the ball and attacking and finishing. I thought our defense being able to scramble and try to take the ball out of Shai’s [Gilgeous-Alexander] hands, and then be able to come up with the rebounds, I thought that got us back into the game.”
Although Doncic didn’t play in Friday’s game, he was still tired on Saturday after welcoming his newborn daughter into the world 24 hours before. He was disappointed in the end result of the game, but he was also proud of the fight his team showed. The four-time All-NBA First Teamer believes the Mavs have a lot of wins ahead of them.
“First of all, it was the happiest day of my life, about the baby. But then today’s game was a big rollercoaster too. I’m so sad we didn’t win this game, but we gave a big effort. This team today was impressive in the 3rd and 4th quarter. We just got to play like this more times and we’re going to win a lot of games,” Doncic said.
“That was insane. Like I said, we played with great energy. We had guys out [and] it was a tough game, but we came back and almost won it. Like I said, I’m really sad we couldn’t win it but it was a great, great effort.”
Dereck Lively II, who posted a career-high performance across the board with 20 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks while shooting 9-9 from the field, thinks the Mavs are capable of pulling off more big runs going forward. They just have to practice more when it comes to finishing those runs.
“That’s just the way the game goes, basketball is a game of runs,” Lively said. “We were fortunate enough to fight back and bring it back to a close game. We’ve just got to be sure that we’re able to practice more trying to close out late game situations. Making sure we are doing the right plays, doing the right defense, make sure were making good possessions and getting stops.”
With the loss, the Mavs fell to 11-8 on the season and are now sixth in the Western Conference. They’ve lost six of their last nine games, but now, they’ll have three days off to get rested before playing three straight teams with losing records. Unless something goes terribly wrong, an upswing for Dallas should be right around the corner.
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