What to Watch For in OKC Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks

The Oklahoma City Thunder are doing battle with the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night during an Amazon Prime exclusive game as these two sides meet for the second time this season. The OKC Thunder hope to keep rolling, sitting atop the entire NBA with a 21-1 record, already downing the Mavericks once this season. Dallas looks to build on their first bit of positive momentum all season long, having won three in a row, going 5-5 over their last ten games.

Part of that has been Anthony Davis staying healthy and returning to form to help life the Mavs, while rookie Cooper Flagg has also found his stride living up to the hype as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the generational talent he was billed as.

For the Thunder, they continue to navigate through adversity on the injury report. Without Isaiah Hartenstein with his re-evaluation set for 10 to 14 days from last Saturday as he deals with a calf strain. Lu Dort and Alex Caruso still are in street clothes with an adductor strain and quad contusion respectively.

Oklahoma City hasn't let that stop them from being the best team in the NBA with the league's best defense and net rating.

Here is what to watch for in this contest between the OKC Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.

OKC Thunder, Dallas Maverick — Oct 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy (1) dive for the loose ball during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

What to Watch For

How does Rookie Cooper Flagg handle the pressure of this elite Oklahoma City Thunder defense? While Flagg has been worlds better over the last month than his cold stretch to start the season, this is a different challenge entirely. For Flagg to have a big night tonight it will take getting past the likes of All-Defensive players such as Jalen Williams.

How does OKC handle the size of Dallas down Isaiah Hartenstein? While the Mavericks will not have youngster Dereck Lively II, they still have Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington with the latter two tabbed as questionable. Can they impose their positional size on a Thunder team that is deploying a weakened front court.

Does the secondary unit of Oklahoma City find their stride offensively? They now have the pieces to put together a really strong scoring punch even when superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor with the likes of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell. Seeing how that trio grows each passing game will be a massive storyline.

Game Information

Date: Dec. 05
Matchup: OKC Thunder (21-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (8-15)
Time: 08:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center –– Oklahoma City, OK
TV: Amazon Prime
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM)

Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder will see a day off on Saturday, then on Sunday, hit the road again to battle the Utah Jazz in a one-game road trip. As Oklahoma City plays just three games this week, this is a lighter week on the Thunder's schedule. It is especially a breath of fresh air before heading into next week as the NBA Cup resumes against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the knockout stage, with a trip to Vegas on the line.

Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of this Oklahoma City Thunder season as the Bricktown Ballers continue to make history this season.