Mavs Game Observations: Game 14 @ Thunder [Game of the Week]

46 minutes and 14 seconds of great basketball enough for a statement win

Photo by Joshua Gateley / Getty Images

The Dallas Mavericks did it! They avoided another clutch collapse by edging out the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in a nail-biting finish, as Luguentz Dort’s potential game-winning three-point heave missed at the buzzer.

The final two minutes of the game somehow soured what was otherwise a great Mavericks performance, so let’s address that first before focusing on all the good that happened in my notes. The Mavericks were up 10 with 1:46 left in the game and had the ball out of a timeout. What followed was nearly a collapse of epic proportions, marked by four disastrous turnovers, a Thunder 10-2 run, and a botched free-throw rebound after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s intentional miss, which led to Dort’s final attempt.

Such a closing stretch doesn’t inspire much confidence that the Mavericks’ clutch woes are behind them—quite the opposite, in fact. But, if there’s one takeaway, it’s that entering the final two minutes with a double-digit lead certainly helps, as opposed to playing catchup like they did in previous games.

Now that we’ve addressed the rough ending, let’s focus on the positives because there were plenty.

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Today’s notes:

1. A great plan and even better execution (🎞️VIDEO)

2. P.J. Washington brings the thunder

3. Winning the possession battle

4. Better late than never: adjustments against SGA

5. Both backup ball handlers, please stand up (🎞️VIDEO)

Bonus point: Kyrie Irving's calming presence

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1 - A great plan and even better execution (🎞VIDEO)

Without their primary offensive option in Luka Dončić and facing a vastly undersized opponent, Jason Kidd and his staff devised a great game plan. The players executed it to perfection—at least until the aforementioned final two minutes.

The plan was simple: target OKC’s weak points, hit them often, and hit them hard.

The central figure in that plan was P.J. Washington (more on him in my next note), with the Mavericks adjusting their offense for a game by playing through him in the post. The other part of the plan was to win the possession game (see Note 3) by crashing the glass and maintaining control of the ball against an extremely aggressive, ball-pressure defense.

In addition, the Mavericks’ plays out of timeouts were spot-on. Like in the playoffs against OKC, they opened both halves by setting up Washington on the block to get him going with early quality looks. And then there were other wrinkles, like punishing Dort’s aggressive ball-denial defense and leveraging Irving’s gravity with two plays that generated layups, including one during a key moment in the fourth quarter.

2-P.J. Washington brings the thunder

We wouldn’t be talking about a great plan to attack the smaller Thunder inside if Paul Jamaine Washington Jr. hadn’t been there to execute it.

P.J. delivered a monster stat line with 27 points and 17 rebounds, hitting 3 of his 4 threes and reviving nightmares for OKC fans with flashbacks of his playoff performances. Washington shot 7-of-13 from the floor and grabbed 6 offensive rebounds, cleaning up his rare misses with devastating putbacks.

The smaller Thunder couldn’t handle Washington’s physicality inside, as he drew 5 fouls and made all 10 of his free throws (including two key in the final minute), playing a key role in Dallas winning the free-throw battle by 11 points.

3 - Winning the possession battle

In my preview, I wrote that the Mavericks would need to be ready for a guerrilla war against the smaller OKC and win the unconventional 'offensive rebounds vs. turnovers’ possession game.

Apart from two blackouts—the aforementioned one in the final two minutes and another disastrous stretch late in the third quarter with Irving on the bench, when Marshall and Kleber committed four turnovers—Dallas did well controlling the ball. Still, the Thunder held a 16-6 edge in turnovers and a 16-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Enter Washington, Gafford, and the rest of the Mavericks, who erased that margin on the offensive glass. Yes, the Thunder were giving up several inches in every matchup and have been dominated on the offensive boards by every opponent since Chet Holmgren’s injury. However, this doesn’t diminish the effort and relentless force the Mavericks displayed, especially on the second night of a back-to-back. Dallas rebounded 44 percent of their misses—the highest share OKC has allowed all season. Gafford led the charge with 8 offensive rebounds and, alongside Washington, was the driving force behind the Mavericks’ interior dominance.

4-Better late than never: adjustments against SGA

Another point I mentioned in my preview was how OKC creates mismatch situations for SGA using guard-to-guard screens before letting him cook in isolation. But what happened in the first half wasn’t just cooking, it was frying. SGA consistently got the switch he wanted and absolutely torched every weaker Mavericks defender, whether it was a guard like Irving, Thompson, or Hardy, or a big like Gafford. He finished the half with 20 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting.

Late in the third quarter, the Mavericks finally began blitzing SGA, with mixed results.

And as if his impressive stat line wasn’t enough, Washington was the only Maverick defender who managed to provide any resistance, containing Gilgeous-Alexander’s drives on a couple key possessions in clutch moments. According to Second Spectrum tracking data, in 25 half-court matchups where P.J. was the primary defender on SGA, the Thunder superstar scored just 2 points. In 54 matchups against other Mavericks defenders, SGA scored 33 points.

There was a similar disparity with the big men. OKC scored just 5 points on 8 possessions where Lively was the screen defender, compared to 14 points on 7 possessions when Gafford was involved in the pick-and-roll action. A key factor behind another significant +/- disparity between the Mavericks’ big men (Lively was +12, Gafford -12), despite Gafford’s dominant rebounding performance.

5 - Both backup ball handlers, please stand up (🎞️VIDEO)

With Dončić out, finding someone to relieve Irving of some of his on-ball duties was one of the biggest concerns heading into this game against an elite perimeter defense.

Neither Jaden Hardy nor Spencer Dinwiddie had inspired confidence this season in their ability to step up, but both delivered in this game. They combined for 23 points and committed just two turnovers (although Hardy’s late-game turnover could have been costly). Both bailed out several possessions when the Mavericks didn’t have much going for them, with isolation and one-on-one shot-making.

Hardy played his best game of the season, aggressively attacking the rim against an OKC team lacking size and rim protection. Paint finishing has been a problematic aspect of Hardy's game in his first two NBA seasons, but he was great scoring inside last night.

Bonus point:

• Kyrie Irving's calming presence: It’s easy to overlook Irving’s stat line of 23 points, but, as he has all season, Irving served as the calming, stabilizing force. He provided a perfect balance between making key plays himself (he made two big threes in the 4th) and creating the environment that enables others to step up.