Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic Nearly Leads Massive 24-Point Comeback in Loss vs. OKC Thunder
DALLAS — Despite Luka Doncic making his return to the lineup after the birth of his daughter Gabriela, the Dallas Mavericks produced a flat performance in a 126-120 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavs dropped to 11-8 on the season, while the Thunder improved to 13-6.
“First of all, it was the happiest day of my life, about the baby," Doncic said. "But then today’s game was a big rollercoaster too. I’m so sad we didn’t win this game, but 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.”
Kyrie Irving headlined a long list of inactive rotation players for the Mavs, including Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, Dante Exum, and Maxi Kleber. Dallas started Seth Curry in Irving's place and had to dig deep in the organization to fill out the rotation, including using players signed to two-way contracts.
The Mavs jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, featuring lots of impact inside the paint from Dereck Lively II. A pair of made 3s from Derrick Jones Jr. gave Dallas its strong push of the first half, resulting in a five-point lead with about three minutes to play in the period.
Oklahoma City responded by outscoring the Mavs 14-3 for the rest of the first quarter, establishing a 33-27 edge. The Thunder never looked back by scoring a game-high 39 points in the second period while reaching a 21-point lead before the break.
The Mavs frequently deployed double teams to get the ball out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's hands, resulting in no shortage of open looks from beyond the arc for the Thunder's floor spacing threats. Oklahoma City's hot shooting made Dallas pay for its approach, being a driving force in giving up 72 first-half points.
“They did that all game to a degree. They didn’t trap him as early as they did in the possessions, but they were trapping him the entire game, and I thought we had pretty good attacks throughout," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "Obviously, they got it going a little bit offensively, and we got a little frantic offensively.
"I think the lesson out of the Minnesota game and then this one is when you build a lead, and you kind of have control of a game, teams are going to throw the kitchen sink at you, and we’ve got to be able to handle that," Daigneault explained. "They’re not doing anything we haven’t seen before, but we got to be able to calibrate very quickly as teams adjust. Minnesota game, it was zone, tonight it was the really, really aggressive trapping, and these are things we can learn from.”
Shortly after halftime, a layup from Josh Giddey extended the Thunder's advantage to a game-high 24 lead. The Mavs mixed it up with a 2-3 zone midway through the third quarter after struggling to get stops. The initial results were favorable, helping Dallas to string together enough stops to reduce the deficit to 15 points (84-69).
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic during the 2023-24 NBA season.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas achieved a respectable run to make it a brief single-figure game. It began with Jones cutting it to 13 with a made 3 for his fifth make of the night, followed by Doncic knocking down a step-back 3, with Dwight Powell converting on a pair of made free throws to make it a nine-point game.
The Mavs' defense began to slip in its execution, with a key mistake being Jaden Hardy fouling Davis Bertans on a 3-point attempt — growing the deficit to 16 points (97-81) with 1:47 left in the third quarter. Bertans continued to pour it on with a made corner 3 to bring it back to a 19-point game, then stole a pass and threw a one-handed pass for a breakaway dunk.
It became a 13-0 run for Oklahoma City after Bertans sparked momentum before the Mavs scored. After giving up several breakaway scoring chances, the Thunder went back up by 23 points entering the fourth quarter.
Using a 30-0 run with Doncic doing a lot of playmaking, scoring, and even some defensive contributions all mixed in, the Mavs pulled off a significant rallying effort to take a 117-111 lead with 4:18 remaining in regulation.
“I think when you look at the character of the team displayed there for the whole game, just understanding that with Luka [Doncic] they are going to take the ball out of his hands," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "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.
"I think [Dereck] Lively did a great job getting the ball and attacking and finishing," Kidd explained. "I thought our defense being able to scramble and try to take the ball out of Shai’s [Gilgeous-Alexander] hands, and then be able to come up with the rebounds, I thought that got us back into the game.”
Throughout the Mavs' massive run, the team often played out of double-drag screens involving Curry and Lively. However, during possessions when the Thunder blitzed Doncic in ball screening actions throughout the game, Lively filled a key role in short rolls. Oklahoma City experienced similar circumstances playing through Holmgren out of the short roll.
“Really just trying to be able to find openings. If they’re going to double Luka [Doncic], just knowing if I’m going to be playing out the pocket or if I’m going to be playing out the flash game," Lively said. "So I’ve got to be able to know that sometimes the corner’s open, sometimes it’s me getting to the rim, or it’s just finding the open man.”
Chet Holmgren scored on consecutive possessions to tie it up before Jalen Williams put them ahead 122-120 to extend a 6-0 run. In between, Doncic was called for a pivotal travel, resulting in a turnover. The Mavs failed to put any more points on the board, resulting in a nearly epic comeback falling short.
“Well, my view is that probably it was a travel. But those travels happen about, in my opinion, 20 times a game," Doncic said. "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 think those travels happen a lot of times in one game, but the NBA doesn't call them travel," Doncic explained. "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.”
Doncic tied Larry Bird for ninth all-time on the NBA career triple-double leaderboard (59) after recording 36 points, 15 rebounds, and 18 assists while adding two steals and two blocks. He also became the first player in league history to have the statistical performance he achieved when factoring in his five made 3s.
Lively had a career night in many categories, finishing with 20 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks while playing 39 minutes. Derrick Jones Jr. provided a significant spark, totaling 24 points and four rebounds while setting a single-game career-high in made 3s with six. Curry and A.J. Lawson both chipped in 12 points apiece, with Curry making four 3s and Lawson dropping in three made 3s.
The Thunder received eight double-figure scoring performances, with Jalen Williams' 23 points leading the way. Holmgren provided 11 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in 17 points, nine assists, and five steals.
The Mavs will return to action on Wednesday when they take on the Utah Jazz at American Airlines Center.
