MAVERICKS (17-18) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (13-22)
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City.
TV: Bally Sports Southwest, NBA TV.
Radio: The Eagle 97.1 FM; Univision Zona MX 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: They got the best news they could hope for to start 2022 when they released their injury update Saturday afternoon and Luka Dončić, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber all were released from the NBA’s health and safety protocols and could be available for the Sunday game. However, it’s the opener of back-to-back games as the Mavericks return to American Airlines Center on Monday to face Denver. Much will depend on the conditioning of the three returnees as to whether they play Sunday. When Josh Green and Reggie Bullock were cleared to return, they both sat out a game before being activated . . . Trey Burke, Boban Marjanović, Isaiah Thomas, Brandon Knight and JaQuori McLaughlin remain unclear . . . Add on Willie Cauley-Stein (personal matter) and they remain shorthanded, but not nearly as much as they were . . . They will put this season-long-tying five-game trip in the books tonight and have a chance to go 3-2 during the journey that started in Utah on Christmas Eve. They have alternated wins and losses so far – losing at Utah, winning at Portland, dropping the opener at Sacramento and dominating on Friday in the rematch against the Kings . . . The Mavericks have won four of the last five meetings with the Thunder, including a 103-84 victory on Dec. 12 in the first match between these teams this season. They have two games in Dallas coming in the next month . . . The Mavericks actually have shot the ball better the last three games, making 31-of-87 3-pointers (35.6 percent) . . . Kristaps Porzingis has been sharp since returning from a toe injury, averaging 27 points in the four games and scoring at least 24 in all of them.
About the Thunder: They suffered a major loss Saturday when the team announced that leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been placed in health and safety protocols. He joins teammates Darius Bazley, Josh Giddey, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Derrick Favors, all of whom are out . . . The Thunder have won five of their last eight games, including a 95-80 wipeout of the New York Knicks on New Year’s Eve . . . In that game, the Thunder held the Knicks to 37 percent shooting and 19.5 percent shooting from 3-point range (8-for-41) . . . OKC wasn’t much better offensively, led by Gilgeous-Alexander with 23 points. He needed 24 shots to amass those points . . . Gilgeous-Alexander averages 22.7 points, 5.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds to pace the Thunder, so his absence is a huge loss . . . They actually are a decent defensive team, but where they struggle is scoring. They are last in the NBA at 100.2 points and also last at 31 percent 3-point shooting . . . The Thunder have had 21 players on their roster this season. Of those, 17 have two years of experience or less. They have six players who have yet to reach 21 years of age . . . Josh Giddey is a 6-8 shooting guard and was the sixth overall pick in last summer’s draft. The Australian has started all 30 games he’s played and averages 10.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists. But the Mavericks won’t have to deal with him as he is in the league’s health and safety protocols.
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment