In today's NBA league, several young teams with great talent and immediate combat effectiveness have emerged, among which the Thunder is undoubtedly the most outstanding. Under the leadership of their core player Alexander, the Thunder finished the first 40 regular season games with a record of 34 wins and 6 losses, surpassing many strong teams in the West to rank first in the standings. On this game day, the Thunder traveled to Dallas to challenge the Mavericks. After the game started, Irving led the Mavericks to quickly establish a 20-point lead. However, the Thunder, who were missing key players, launched a fierce counterattack. Unfortunately, without the top-notch decisive ability of Alexander, the Western Conference leader suffered a 106-98 defeat on the road, ending their four-game winning streak!
[Game Highlights]
The Thunder played back-to-back games in this match. In the previous game day, they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers at home by a huge margin of 20 points, winning the battle between the top teams in the East and West, and also ending the Cavaliers' undefeated record against Western Conference teams since the start of the season, defending the glory of the entire Western Conference.
However, Alexander, who performed well in the previous game, missed this game due to injury, coupled with the impact of playing back-to-back games on physical fitness, making it unlikely for the Thunder to win on the road. The Mavericks, who lost to the Thunder in their last direct encounter in Oklahoma City, saw the opportunity to seek revenge at home.
[Game Review]
After the game started, the Thunder, who lost their tactical core and backbone, obviously struggled to adapt on the court. They failed to show the intensity of the Western Conference leader on both offense and defense, and made frequent mistakes. The experienced Uncle Drew Irving seized the opportunity to help the Mavericks build a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Mavericks unleashed a barrage, scoring 41 points in a single quarter, leading the Thunder by as many as 20 points.
However, as the game progressed, the Thunder gradually found their rhythm, with significant improvements in both offense and defense. They made a run in the third quarter to quickly overtake the score. However, Jalen Williams, who averaged 20.6 points per game this season, was completely off-target under the Mavericks' focused defense, shooting only 7 out of 22 attempts for 19 points, which was the fundamental reason for the Thunder's failure to reverse the game and lose on the road.
After the Thunder made a furious comeback in the third quarter to tie the score at 69, Irving stood up, hitting a three-pointer under heavy defense to stabilize the Mavericks. In the entire game, Irving shot 9 out of 19 attempts, including 3 three-pointers, contributing 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, becoming the biggest contributor to the team's victory.
With a big lead, the Mavericks were quickly caught up by the Thunder, who were missing key players. Klay Thompson cannot escape responsibility. When the Thunder were aggressively double-teaming Irving, Klay did not step up to share the scoring burden with Uncle Drew. He shot only 2 out of 7 attempts for 6 points in the entire game. Fortunately, Washington had a good game, shooting 5 out of 7 attempts to deliver a comprehensive performance of 16+7+5+1+1, helping the team defend their victory at home.
After narrowly defeating the Thunder with missing key players, the Mavericks ended their embarrassing three-game losing streak. Their next game will be an away challenge against the Hornets, while the Thunder will return to their home court to face the Nets and Jazz respectively, followed by another home game against the Mavericks. We look forward to Alexander's quick return to the team to continue leading this young army to make great progress.