Mavs rally, set NBA record, but still fall to OKC, 126-120

Several years from now, there probably will be hundreds of thousands of people claiming they were inside American Airlines Center the night the Mavericks almost pulled off the un-imaginable.

On Saturday, the Mavs were without five rotation players against the Oklahoma City Thunder, including superstar guard Kyrie Irving. And they were down 24 points, 111-87, less than one minute into the fourth quarter.

But the Mavs staged one of the rallies for the ages – going on a record-breaking 30-0 run — before ultimately falling short and losing to the Thunder, 126-120, in dramatic fashion.

The loss dropped the Mavs to 11-8, while OKC improved to 13-6.

Luka Dončić was back in the starting lineup after missing Friday’s loss to Memphis following the birth of his daughter. And Dončić was spectacular as he engineered a massive charge that gave the Mavs an electrifying 117-111 lead with 4:18 remaining following his steal and uncontested layup.

That capped the largest run in the history of the NBA since the league first started tracking play-by-play in the 1996-97 season. The previous largest was a 29-0 run Cleveland put on Milwaukee on Dec. 6, 2009.

“That was insane,” Dončić said of the 30-0 run. “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.”

The Thunder won mainly because they ended the game on a 10-0 run after some unfortunate and untimely mistakes by the Mavs.

Jalen Williams’ dunk at the 4:05 mark were the first points for OKC in over seven minutes. Isaiah Joe followed with a three-pointer, and suddenly the Thunder were within 117-116 of the Mavs.

A.J. Lawson nailed a three-pointer to pad the Mavs’ lead to 120-116. However, a dunk by Chet Holmgren (11 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) via an offensive rebound made it a one possession game again at 120-118.

From there, a critical play occurred when Dončić was whistled for traveling with 1:27 to go in the game.

“Well, my view is that probably it was a travel,” Dončić said. “But those travels happen about — in my opinion — 20 times a game. So, (with) a minute to go, minute-and-a-half, if you’re going to call that travel for the first time in the game, you can’t do that.

“I was really surprised because the next play, it was (Kenrich) Williams, I think, (Williams) did the same thing and they didn’t call it.”

After play resumed following the traveling violation, Holmgren scored again off an offensive rebound to tie the game at 120-120.

Seth Curry missed a jumper and Jalen Williams slipped inside for a bucket and a 122-120 led for OKC with 40.8 seconds remaining. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (17 points, nine assists) stole an inbounds pass from Doncic and scored to give OKC a 124-120 led with 35.8 seconds to go.

Lawson and Curry each misfired on three-point attempts on the ensuing trip up the court for the Mavs, and Jalen Williams closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds left as the Mavs suffered their second straight loss.

The setback was unfortunate considering what several players accomplished for the Mavs. For starters, Dončić finished with 36 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, a season-high 18 assists, two steals and two blocks in 46 grueling minutes.

Dončić became the first NBA player to score at least 35 points, grab at least 15 rebounds, distribute at least 15 assists and convert at least five three-pointers in a game. He also recorded his 59th career triple-double, tying him with Larry Bird for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time list.

The Mavs actually didn’t know what to expect from Dončić after the emotional week that he endured.

“Just to go through what he’s gone through — the emotions of life at its highest — I think he said he wasn’t tired, so we left him out there,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought he did a great job on both sides of the ball, defensively and offensively.

“Being able to find guys, and then be able to knock down shots, again, he put us in the position to win.”

In explaining what it was like to be back on the court following the birth of his daughter, Dončić said: “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, man, we gave a big effort. This team today was impressive in the third and fourth quarters. We just got to play like this more times and we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Mavs will also win a lot of games if rookie Dereck Lively II continues to shine the way he has. Lively collected career highs in points (20), rebounds (16) and blocks (six), while Derrick Jones Jr. was 6-of-12 from downtown and popped in a season-high 24 points. And Curry and Lawson did their part by scoring 12 points apiece.

In the end, the Mavs turned a dud of a game into one that was very entertaining as they played without Tim Hardaway Jr. (back spasms), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), Dante Exum (the birth of his daughter), Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) and Irving (right foot soreness). It was a gallant effort by the Mavs that fell short.

“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,” Kidd said. “I think 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 hands, and then be able to come up with the rebounds, I thought that got us back into the game.”

Lively was 9-for-9 from the field and outplayed Holmgren, who is considered the frontrunner to win this season’s Rookie of the Year award. Lively also held his own against the NBA’s other top rookie, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, during the Mavs’ season opener.

“They’re both great players,” Lively said. “Just being able to know that I’m going up against a great team, with great players and making great decisions on the floors, just makes you want to play a little bit harder.

“They’re amazing players. (But) I’m going out here not chasing names, not chasing stats. I’m just chasing wins.”

Things started going south for the Mavs late in the first quarter when OKC took less than one minute to go on an 8-0 run and turn a 24-19 deficit into a 27-24 lead.

The Mavs committed an eight-second violation out of that timeout. Jaylin Williams then buried a three-pointer for OKC, Jaden Hardy was whistled for an offensive foul, and Richardson High School product Cason Wallace scored inside for the Thunder.

Early on, the Mavs held Gilgeous-Alexander in-check. The NBA’s fifth-leading scorer at 30.6 points per game, Gilgeous-Alexander had just one point at the 7:13 mark of the second quarter.

But his teammates – aided by 15 points from former Mavs forward Davis Bertans — did enough to complete a 32-10 run and compile a 51-34 lead for the Thunder. However, Gilgeous-Alexander started heating up after that as he scored eight straight points as OKC bolted ahead, 67-46, with less than three minutes remaining before halftime.

The Thunder led, 72-56, at intermission, and 107-84 after the third quarter. Then came that wild and crazy fourth quarter.

“Yesterday was probably the best one I slept in three days,” said Dončić, who was 11-of-22 from the field and played the entire second half. “It was about four or five hours (of sleep), so it was pretty good for me based on the other two days.

“The first two or three minutes (of the game) I was exhausted. I said, ‘I’m not making 35 (minutes) today.’ But then I just told Jason, ‘I’m good. Let me go.’ “

In a game when Dončić was very, very good, unfortunately for him and the Mavs they came up a little short.

X: @DwainPrice