The Oklahoma City Thunder finishes out their 3-game road trip on Monday night as they take on the Mavericks in Dallas. The Thunder handily defeated the Hawks in Atlanta on Saturday night to stay perfect, while the Mavs picked up their first win of the season last night at home against the Toronto Raptors.
OKC remains without Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso, among others, but the Dallas Mavericks are without star point guard Kyrie Irving. Rookie Cooper Flagg hasn’t had the best start to his career, but he had a solid game last night, finishing with 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Anthony Davis has been solid through three games, averaging 24.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.
The Thunder struggled with the Mavericks last season, winning just one of four meetings, but OKC is heavily favored tonight in Dallas. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off to an incredible start, averaging 40.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. Chet Holmgren (lower back soreness) is available to play, but his time could be limited if he deals with any discomfort. The Mavs have struggled defensively through their first three games, allowing 123.7 points per game to opposing teams, and they haven’t exactly played well on the offensive side either, averaging 19 turnovers per game.
While the Thunder hasn’t shot the ball well, they looked significantly better against the Hawks on Saturday, and the defense has been vicious throughout the first three games. Tonight’s meeting will depend heavily upon whether or not OKC can keep Dallas on their heels, forcing live-ball turnovers, but if the Mavericks can use their length to their advantage, it could make for a much closer game than expected.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: American Airlines Center (Dallas, Texas)
Television: FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Dallas Mavericks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Mavericks
- PG: Cooper Flagg
- SG: Klay Thompson
- SF: P.J. Washington
- PF: Anthony Davis
- C: Dereck Lively
Injury Report
Thunder
- Alex Caruso (concussion protocol) is OUT.
- Chet Holmgren (lower back soreness) is AVAILABLE.
- Isaiah Joe (left knee contusion) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (right wrist surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Kenrich Williams (left knee surgical recovery) is OUT.
Mavericks
- Dante Exum (right knee injury management) is OUT.
- Daniel Gafford (sprained right ankle) is OUT.
- Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Brandon Williams (personal reasons) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 31-29 against the Mavericks in the regular season (18-13 at home, 13-16 on the road) and 11-9 in the playoffs (5-5 at home, 6-4 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Mavericks 6 times, lost 8 times, and tied 3 times.
- The Thunder went 1-3 against the Mavericks last season (1-1 at home, 0-2 on the road) in the regular season.