'I Didn't Lead The Team,' Says Doncic: Biggest Takeaways from Mavs' OT Loss to Thunder
The Dallas Mavericks (2-3) began the first of a five-game homestand with a 117-111 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3) on Saturday.
It was another game where the Mavs had built a double-figure lead but proved unable to hold onto it in the end. The Thunder rallied back from a 16-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Oklahoma City's momentum had carried over into overtime early — making a victory the clear outcome.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated for the Thunder with 38 points, six rebounds, and nine assists in 41 minutes. Luguentz Dort chipped in 16 points and six rebounds in addition to his pestering on-ball defense against Doncic. Oklahoma City also received 51 points from their bench.
Luka Doncic finished with 31 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists while Spencer Dinwiddie also reached the 20-point threshold in the end. It was a struggling offensive performance for Dallas overall as they shot 40.0 percent from the floor and 20.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Before the Mavs take on the Orlando Magic at American Airlines Center on Sunday night, let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Dallas’ loss to Oklahoma City.
3. Poor Perimeter Shooting Execution; "Luka Ball" Reliance
The physical on-ball defense of Luguentz Dort proved to be disruptive for Luka Doncic, who called Dort a "top three defender" in the NBA in his post-game interview. Doncic finished with 31 points but shot 8-23 from the floor, 0-6 from deep, and 15-19 on free throws while dishing out 10 assists.
"[Dort] is a great defender. He's one of the top three defenders in the NBA," Doncic said. " It's really tough to play against him. So he's been doing great and incredible jobs since I’ve been here.”
There was added pressure placed on Doncic to make plays with how poor of a perimeter shooting night it was for most of the Mavs roster. The team as a whole shot 8-40 (25.0 percent), including his six attempts that ended with misses. He found results and showed a lot of trust in the two-man game with Dwight Powell, but often, his spray-out passes resulted in a great look from deep that didn't drop. Doncic had 22 potential assists, with 10 of those plays ending in an assist.
In the fourth quarter, Doncic scored 2 points while shooting 0-2 from the floor and 2-4 from the free throw line while the Mavs were outscored by a 16-point margin. He missed his first two shots in overtime whenOn the season, he's averaging 4.5 points while shooting 31.3 percent from the floor without a make from 3-point range in fourth-quarter play.
“It’s on me," Doncic said. "I didn’t lead the team. I didn’t make shots. That game’s on me. I didn’t do what [was] needed to do to win.”
2. Small Thunder Team Dominated on Drives
The Thunder was the highest-volume driving offense in the NBA entering Saturday's matchup. Oklahoma City recorded a staggering 80.0 drives and shot 23-35 (65.7 percent) on those attempts, with an overall result of 54 points (including free throws).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove 39 times against the Mavs and scored 26 points alone on these sequences — shooting 10-16 (62.5 percent) from the floor in these situations. He entered the matchup as the NBA's most frequent lane penetrator and fully displayed why he's so challenging to contain.
“You just look at we got great opportunities, but we’re just missing shots. We’re not playing any defense and that’s a big part of our problem. No matter who is closing the game, if you don’t get stops or if you just let the ball drive, and if you don’t protect the paint, it’s hard in this league. Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] did that tonight in a sense of being able to get into the paint. He made some tough ones, but when you get some freebies as talented as he is, you know he’s going to end up with 38.”
The Thunder do not deploy a traditional center and often have an athletic lineup from top to bottom. While there is clearly a lack of perimeter shooting capability without Chet Holmgren available, their personnel is very aggressive in attacking the rim — applying significant pressure on the defense.
“They play small a lot," Kidd said. "This was a great test to be able to guard the ball or protect your paint. We just didn’t do that tonight.”
1. Late-Game Execution Falters
The Mavs have struggled to sustain leads early in the season. Against the Thunder, they received a 24-7 start to the fourth quarter with Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood leading a plug-and-play lineup. Dallas held a 95-79 lead when Luka Doncic checked into the game with 5:41 remaining in regulation.
“Just took a look at a different lineup to close the game," Kidd said. "They went on an 11-2 run. You know, we had control of the game. When you look at early in the season, we have had leads in the fourth and we give them away. It’s something we got to look at. We look at a different lineup closing the game, it just didn’t go well.”
Kidd has been experimenting with different closing lineup combinations. In the Mavs' overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets in their previous outing, the team went with Tim Hardaway Jr. as the final member of their lineup. Against the Thunder, the decision was made to close with Wood. What Kidd is looking for going forward is for personnel that can contain dribble penetration and take pressure off Doncic. The Mavs shifted course and went with Maxi Kleber as the final starter in overtime.
“I think when you look at being able to guard the ball, we can’t just rely on Luka [Doncic]. Someone’s got to step up and make a shot or make a play … Being able to put different combinations out there. So far, I think we got them all in, close to, and so we got to figure out which ones are working.
"We didn’t go with Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] tonight. We left C-Wood [Christian Wood] out there with that group and it didn’t go well on either end, and that’s something we got to be better at. I think we worry about offense, but we took command of that game, and with six minutes left it started to go the other way. We just didn’t finish.”
The Mavs once again relied on Doncic attempting to make a game-winning shot at the end of regulation, but he is now 0-3 on these particular shots. When he released the shot, he immediately knew it was wide left. Meanwhile, Isaiah Joe who was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers not long ago, made timely shots toward the end of regulation and during overtime. The best display was the tough, contested 3-pointer he made with 15.8 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime.
“It was good. I think it was a good shot," Doncic said of his possible game-winner. "Suddenly, with shooting the ball, I can’t make nothing. So, I probably should get into the lane next time but I think it was a good shot and one that I’m capable of making.”
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