Stealing the inbound pass, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started the transition and willed his way to the basket for the layup. The crucial late-game turnover sealed this game’s fate.
After giving up an astonishing 30-0 run in the fourth quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder quickly got out of their funk and collected an impressive 126-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
“Obviously, great mental toughness out of the team to go down (six points) with that game context and to get present and stack a couple of good possessions,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the unconventional win. “Really good attacks offensively after obviously having a hard time finding it on that end…
“It’s kinda a weird way to win but certainly don’t want to underestimate the mental toughness of the team.”
It was the game of the night as the Thunder and Mavericks played a fast-paced style of basketball where each team exchanged loud blows.
A 39-point second quarter by the Thunder helped them enter halftime with a 72-56 lead. That lead grew in the second half as OKC closed the third quarter on a 17-8 run to enter the final frame with a 107-84 lead.
It appeared the Thunder were going to cruise to an easy win — instead what transpired was a mesmerizing 30-0 run by the Mavericks that flipped a 23-point deficit into a six-point lead. It was an unreal stretch of basketball that was hard to process and see unfold.
The 30-0 run by the Mavericks is the longest run without allowing an opposing team basket since the 1996-97 season — when the NBA started to keep track of play-by-play stats.
“Not a lot of 30-0 runs happening and losing the game,” Daigneault said. “So to win despite that is obviously crazy.”
It felt like the Thunder were on the verge of a massive collapse that would’ve easily been the lowest of lows for OKC’s strong season. Instead, a Jalen Williams dunk finally busted the seal on their basket. The Thunder finished the game on a 15-3 run to close out the road win.
“When you’re going through an avalanche like that, I just think it’s my responsibility to try to reset the team and get us to take a deep breath,” Daigneault said on calling his final timeout with 4:18 left. “… I give the guys a lot of credit, each time we reset, they got their feet back on the ground and we were able to go out there and really perform well in the last four minutes.”
After a Chet Holmgren layup tied the game at 120 apiece, Williams scored on a scoop layup to retake the lead OKC never relinquished again. With a two-point lead, the Thunder scored once again on the aforementioned Gilgeous-Alexander steal-and-layup.
Down by four points, the Mavericks missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final 35 seconds to seal OKC’s win.
The Thunder had another efficient scoring night as a whole. OKC shot a pedestrian 44% from the field but went a sizzling 20-of-44 (45.5%) from 3. It also shot 18-of-22 (81.8%) from the free-throw line.
It was an evenly distributed scoring outing for the Thunder. Eight players scored double-digit points with nobody scoring more than 23 points. Gilgeous-Alexander only scored 17 points.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks were led by a monster outing from Luka Doncic — who missed the first night of their back-to-back to attend the birth of his child. In a chuckling 46 minutes, Doncic had 36 points on 11-of-22 shooting, 18 assists and 15 rebounds for the colossal triple-double. This included going 5-of-13 from 3.
It was the type of performance Dallas needed from its franchise player with Kyrie Irving ruled out with foot soreness.
Doncic’s running mate in the pick-and-roll — Dereck Lively II — also had the best game of his young career. The rookie center had 20 points on perfect 9-of-9 shooting, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. The 19-year-old was the recipient of several lob passes.
Derrick Jones Jr. also had a big night with 24 points including going 6-of-12 from 3. The journeyman has reinvented his career by adding a 3-point shot this season.
Overall, this was a massive win for the Thunder. Playing a high-octane offense like the Mavericks usually results in these high-scoring, fast-paced games with major swings each way sprinkled throughout the contest.
The Thunder took a gut punch in the fourth quarter by giving up a historic 30-0 run, but they weathered the storm and answered back with a run of their own to steal the road victory.
“We preach tight huddles, I feel like that’s what got us through the stretch,” Cason Wallace said on the win. “Just staying together and having that mindset that we can still win the game.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B-plus
While it’s not the typical 30-point ball he’s spoiled fans with, Gilgeous-Alexander played a vital role in the Thunder’s massive win.
In 39 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, nine assists, five steals and three rebounds. He went 2-of-3 from 3 and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Gilgeous-Alexander had one of his better playmaking games of the season as the Mavericks quickly doubled him each time he possessed the ball in the half-court. His two 3-pointers happened consecutively in the second quarter as it helped the Thunder build a 20-point lead.
As mentioned, the All-NBA guard scored the biggest bucket of the night when he collected his fifth steal and took it to the opposing basket to ice this win. It was his only points in the fourth quarter.
“You could tell they were lackadaisical with it and if they were, I was gonna try to get a steal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on his steal-and-score. “… The opportunity presented itself.”
Stepback and let it fly, @shaiglalex pic.twitter.com/vYZTHMduO5
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
All around hustle 😤@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/1fwBJArvsP
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
Chet Holmgren: B-plus
Helping mount overcoming a 30-0 run, Holmgren played a critical role in the Thunder’s win.
In 30 minutes, Holmgren had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three assists.
Looking a bit under the microscope though, what the 21-year-old did in the final four minutes recontextualizes his night. The seven-footer collected three blocks in less than two minutes during crunch time. That type of rim protection can win games and that’s what arguably happened here.
On offense, Holmgren also played a crucial role in the fourth quarter. He cleaned up a pair of consecutive misses with second-chance dunks in the final two minutes to tie the game at 120.
Just a very special stretch by the rookie center in the most important minutes of the game. He continues to terrorize opposing teams on shots inside of the paint with his length and talent.
Both hands up for the bl🚫ck pic.twitter.com/Wde3846gaG
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
Stringing together stops to close it out pic.twitter.com/auj5Yi4A1f
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
Jalen Williams: B-plus
Being OKC’s leading scorer, Williams finished with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, five assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes. He shot 3-of-5 from 3.
In the fourth quarter, Williams retook the lead for the Thunder with a dunk for a 122-120 lead with 40 seconds left. He also hit on a pair of free throws late to give OKC a six-point lead with eight seconds left.
Williams helped the Thunder create a game-high 24-point lead in the third quarter with eight points in the period. The baskets felt like icing added to the cake of a blowout win at the moment, but instead turned out to be necessary points for this close win.
“That’s just how basketball is,” Williams said on giving up a 30-0 run. “Obviously, that’s a bigger version of a lead. There’s runs and that’s how it goes.”
.@jdubwttp working from one baseline to the other ↔️ pic.twitter.com/eUWEnJs0WR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
JDUB DUNKS 😤#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/Yn55Iozipo
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 3, 2023
Cason Wallace: A-minus
Playing in his home state for the first time as an NBA player, Wallace showed out in front of family and friends.
In 20 minutes off the bench, Wallace scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and had six rebounds. He shot 2-of-7 from 3.
With Josh Giddey and Lu Dort combining for 20 points, Wallace stepped up in their scoring struggles. The 20-year-old rookie also did a great job at limiting the non-Doncic Dallas guards, as nobody else had a game of note.
“Best part was getting the win down the stretch,” Wallace said. “We had to grind it out at the end but that brought a lot of adversity to the table that we overcame, so that was a lot of fun.”
RAININ' IN THE AAC ☔️#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/XfsTtk2IZZ
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 3, 2023
Getting through traffic 🚘 pic.twitter.com/4KEPIrqICa
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
Davis Bertans: A
It looked like Bertans played like a man who was recently guaranteed an extra $250,000 for next season.
Playing against his former team, Bertans showed out for his best game of the season. In 11 minutes off the bench, the veteran wing scored 15 points on 3-of-3 shooting. All 3 attempts were from deep.
Now you might wonder how he got to 15 points with just nine coming from his outside attempts. Well, being fouled on a pair of 3-point attempts will do that as Bertans knocked down all six attempts from the free-throw line.
The 31-year-old did his job and provided quick offense for OKC on a night where the 3-ball was its friend.
“I’m sure there was a little extra motivation playing against his former team and that’s what he does,” Holmgren said about Bertans. “Human torch. He comes out there and gets on fire.”
Versatility in our range 👌 pic.twitter.com/yH5y2zIoQA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 3, 2023
Jaylin Williams: A
This was also Williams’s best game of the season. The second-year forward contributed from deep with his best 3-point outing this year yet.
In 15 minutes off the bench, Williams scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3 and grabbed three rebounds. He helped the Thunder’s hot shooting first half with 12 points.
An efficient night for the 21-year-old who’s had a slow start to his season adjusting to his new role as a backup forward.
LET IT FLY 🏹#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | 📺: BSOK pic.twitter.com/OMWszJJKtC
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 3, 2023
