Thunder takes advantage of Luka-less Mavericks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points and nine rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the undermanned Dallas Mavericks 126-119 on Friday, Philippine time.

SLAY GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER! 😤 ??

SGA brought the thunder straight to the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks’ heart, pouring 31 points, nine boards, and five dimes in a 126-119 OKC home dub. #EveryonesGame

📸 @okcthunder pic.twitter.com/5lljgsIf7B

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) March 15, 2024

SGA tallied his 49th game this season of 30+ PTS to give the Thunder the top seed in the West ??

31 PTS | 9 REB | 5 AST | 2 STL | W pic.twitter.com/HkXtRPETQa

— NBA (@NBA) March 15, 2024

Dallas guard Luka Doncic missed the game with a sore left hamstring. He left in the fourth quarter Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors, ending his streak of consecutive triple-doubles at seven games.

With a returning Jalen Williams for Oklahoma City, and without Doncic for Dallas, things certainly seemed to be in favor of the Thunder, who also has the home-court advantage.

Jalen Williams today against the Mavericks

27 points (12 in the 4th)
5 assists
3 blocks
4 rebounds
1 steal
11/21 FGA

STAR. pic.twitter.com/Evr7YiHDjC

— TF (@ThunderFocus) March 15, 2024

The OKC team surged as their opponents’ top scorer was out. Williams had 27 points and three blocks in his return from a sprained right ankle that kept him out of Tuesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Josh Giddey added 18 points for the Thunder, who moved into a tie with the idle Denver Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference at 46-20. Lugenz Dort contributed 12 markers.

Kyrie Irving had 36 points and a season-high 12 assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points and Daniel Gafford added 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Mavericks.

Gafford missed a putback attempt in the first minute of the game, ending his streak of consecutive made field goals at 33. He ended up two short of Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record of 35.

Irving's hot start helped the Mavs to achieve an early 12-11 lead however, OKC rallied and closed the period strong, outscoring Dallas by a 22-15 margin.

The veteran guard Irving had 20 points and eight assists in the first half, but the Thunder led 65-63 at the break. Oklahoma City led 95-87 at the end of the third quarter, then held on in the fourth.

The score was 116-105 in favor of the Thunder with less than six minutes to play. Even though Irving's offensive efforts, Williams' fourth-quarter antics behind the Thunder crowd would be too much for Dallas in the end.

KYRIE IRVING TAKES ON 3 DEFENDERS🤯pic.twitter.com/yb4OqcVAUX

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 15, 2024

Jalen Williams said NO to Kyrie Irving 🚫pic.twitter.com/eq8oQ3mvYV

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 15, 2024

The Thunder is back at the top spot in the Western Conference after the victory. Dallas stays in the Play-In zone at 38-29 below seven spots at eighth seed.