The Dallas Mavericks were back at home on Wednesday night to face the undefeated Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been dealt the craziest rash of injuries to start a season, having already lost Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams for the season (more than likely).
They were also without Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso, so while they still had the two-time reigning MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this was a gettable game for the Mavericks.
As most first quarters are, it was pretty back and forth early, but Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg were rolling, combining to score 23 of the Mavericks’ 33 points. It was their home debut this season after both missed the first game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, and they wanted to put on a show.
The Mavericks had a few big advantages in the first half: three-point shooting and offensive rebounding. Dallas did a great job of creating extra opportunities and kicking out to open shooters.
That extended to Daniel Gafford, who hit his first career three from the corner on a pick-and-pop, and it looked pretty natural for him.
Marcus Sasser hitting a three in the second quarter opened up a 54-42 lead, which was the largest deficit that the Thunder had faced all season. A quick 9-2 run for OKC, with all points scored by Jared McCain and Ajay Mitchell, made it a five-point difference just a few minutes later, though, and the Mavs would have a similar advantage at halftime, 65-59.
The Mavericks’ defense was stifling to open the third quarter, forcing the Thunder to start the first five minutes without making a field goal. With Cooper Flagg having his way on the offensive end, that helped them open up a 15-point lead, 78-63 (they did get a few free throws).
Eventually, the shots started falling for OKC, quickly cutting the lead down to 7, but that wouldn’t last long.
Cooper Flagg helped settle things on offense with some shots around the paint, Walter Clayton Jr. had some impressive assists, and then Flagg found Caleb Martin in the corner for a jumper to push the lead to 15 with a minute left in the third.
The Mavericks kept the lead in double digits throughout the fourth quarter. Zaccharie Risacher had his most impressive offensive stretch of the season, with a nice reverse layup followed by a shot-fake, side-step three to push the lead to 16.
Back-to-back baskets by P.J. Washington made it a 20-point game with less than 5 minutes to go, and Mark Daigneault called off the dogs, with the Mavericks going on to win, 120-96.
It’s the Thunder’s first loss of the season, but more importantly, it’s the first time that the Mavericks have been above .500 since March 6, 2025, which was right after Kyrie Irving tore his ACL. 601 days later, the Mavericks have a winning record again.
Everyone saw how daunting the opening of the schedule was for the Mavericks, so to be 3-2 is incredibly encouraging. The next game will be our first rematch of the season, as the Mavericks will play the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Here are three overreactions from this win.
Noticeable Effort to Install Pace
The Mavericks knew that the OKC Thunder were dealing with some major injuries and likely didn’t have the depth needed to play in a fast game.
So the Mavericks played fast. If the Thunder made a shot, a Maverick was grabbing it out of the basket and instantly getting it inbounds. If there was a miss, the Mavericks were passing it up the floor as quickly as possible. If there was a turnover, the Mavericks were racing in the open floor.
It doesn’t really show up on the stat sheet, as the Mavericks only had 17 fastbreak points, but it constantly created mismatches on the other end, and it also made Shai Gilgeous-Alexander really work on the defensive end. That made him more tired on the offensive end, limiting him to a 7/19 night shooting from the field, including just 2/10 in the third quarter.
Caleb Martin Might Not Be the Worst Player in the NBA Anymore
Dusty May might be a miracle worker. He has made Caleb Martin look borderline playable again.
Martin was awful last year. He was constantly making the wrong play, getting in the way of others, couldn’t shoot, and his defense had fallen off.
Yet, in this game, he hit three three-pointers (had a toe on the line for what would’ve been a fourth), had a critical offensive rebound, and was back to playing solid defense. If this can keep up, the Mavs would have another decent defender on the wings.
Cooper Flagg’s Biggest Improvement
Cooper Flagg has taken a jump in nearly every aspect of his game, and it’s apparent. His biggest improvement has come from his playmaking, though.
He is constantly making the right play with the ball, whether it’s finding the rolling big for a lob or looking off the defense to kick to an open shooter in the corner.
Part of it is just knowing where his teammates are going to be, and Dusty May has helped develop a system that constantly has open shooters. In his last two games, Flagg has 19 assists and just 5 turnovers (didn’t have any in this game). He’s clearly the best playmaker on the roster, and you pair that with 26 points, like he had tonight, and you have the makings of an All-NBA wing in just his second season.
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