OKLAHOMA CITY – If you go strictly by the listed dimensions of their players, Oklahoma City started five shooting guards on Sunday night against the Mavericks.
They could have crushed all comers in a 6-7 and under league.
But they were going against the Mavericks, who fielded a more traditional lineup, even if it was without Luka Dončić, who was out with a right knee contusion.
Even missing their No. 1 player, the Mavericks could still fall back on the old NBA truism that, sometimes, size still matters.
Bigger was better as the Mavericks battered the Thunder in the rebounding department and powered their way to a 121-119 victory at Paycom Center.
At one point midway through the fourth quarter, the Mavericks were outrebounding the Thunder 51-25. The Mavericks were getting loads of second chances offensively. The final numbers on the glass favored the Mavericks 53-29.
P.J. Washington, in his second game back after missing five with a shoulder issue, was a beast all night with season-best 27 points and 17 rebounds. Daniel Gafford also notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Kyrie Irving add 23 points.
“Obviously, we’ve been struggling on the defensive glass, so coming back, that was my main focus and I feel like I did a great job of that,” Washington said. “Obviously, they were small, but we killed them on the glass and that’s the reason we won.”
The Mavericks also got contributions from a variety of players, including Spencer Dinwiddie, who nailed consecutive three-pointers to start the fourth quarter to help push the lead to 114-101 with 4:36 to play. The Mavericks had seven players reach double-figure scoring, including four off the bench.
But it was the rebounding, especially on offense. The Mavericks grabbed 18 of their own misses and had 24 second-chance points to just seven for OKC.
“We knew coming in that they weren’t really good at that just because of them being small right now,” Washington said. “Just attack the glass, make them foul and put them in bad spots down there. Credit to Lively and Gafford. They played their butts off and it was a great team win.”
Dereck Lively II was plus-12 in his 26 minutes on the floor. The Thunder had trouble getting any shots off near the rim when the 7-1 center was there. And the Mavericks didn’t miss a beat when Gafford was in for Lively.
“I was excited to play this game tonight because I knew there wasn’t going to be anybody at the rim,” Irving said of the way the Mavericks exploited the Thunder’s lack of size. “I’m so used to seeing a lot of guys give me a lot of attention, eyes at the rim. Tonight, I utilized my gravity and make Jalen Williams be the five man and contest all our layups. They’re a different team without Chet (Holmgren). But they’re doing their best.”
The Mavericks did it all on Sunday without Luka, who could return Tuesday against New Orleans.
“The ball was moving and down a guy with Luka out, I thought we stayed together,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ve been in some close games and lost. I thought that group did a really good job of staying the course.”
And winning a clutch game after losing four in a row that came down to the wire should do wonders for the Mavericks’ confidence.
“Last week was tough, yeah, but it was a learning experience,” Kidd said. “We are a good team, but we have to become a team first. We got new players that are working through that trying to understand each other.
“Going through some tough times, no one’s going to panic. We come back to play the next game and we put ourselves in position to win on the road.”
And, of course, it was not stress-free. Eight quick points by the Thunder cut the Mavericks’ advantage to 114-109 with 3:14 left.
After a timeout, Washington scored when he grabbed an offensive rebound and Irving drilled a three-pointer to rebuild the lead to 10 points.
The Thunder got it back within 121-118 with 24.2 seconds to go when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 36 points and eight assists, nailed a three-pointer. The Thunder challenged a foul against Naji Marshall, but OKC coach Mark Daigneault challenged and won, but since Marshall had control of the ball, the Mavericks retained possession with 19.2 ticks showing.
The Thunder forced a jump ball with 8 seconds left. It was Irving against Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the tip, giving the Thunder a last-gasp chance.
The Mavs fouled Gilgeous-Alexander who made the first free throw, intentionally missed the second and gave the Thunder a chance at the win as the ball bounced out to Lu Dort. His three-point prayer went unanswered.
“We just had some bad execution (at the end),” Washington said. “We should have held the ball and been a little smarter – made some bad turnovers.”
Even so, it was enough to sweep back-to-back games after spanking San Antonio on Saturday night in Dallas.
They handled the situation without Luka just fine in the first half, when they were up 66-58. When Quentin Grimes nailed a three-pointer 89 seconds into the third quarter, the Mavericks were in front 73-63.
Though both coaches had said pregame that the playoff series between the two teams in the second round last spring had no bearing on what they wanted to do on Sunday, the game to that point had looked quite similar to the Mavericks’ 4-2 series win.
X: @ESefko
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