The Oklahoma City Thunder kick off a three-game road trip on Sunday evening in Dallas as they take on the Mavericks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his return to the court Friday night after missing 9 games with an abdominal strain, and despite his incredible night of 36 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, the Thunder still needed overtime to defeat the Nuggets 127-121. Shai didn’t play in OT, though, as he is sort of on a minutes restriction, but his teammates didn’t let him down as they came through in the end.
Meanwhile, things have not been so rosy in Dallas. The Mavericks have lost 12 of their last 14 games, and their season is all but a wash at this point. At 21-38, Dallas is 6.5 games behind the 10th spot in the West, and with the collection of injuries that they are carrying right now, it’s hard to see this team even being able to work their way into the conversation for a play-in spot.
After a pretty difficult schedule in February that featured 10 of 12 games against playoff teams, the Thunder get some relief with what should be an easier game to manage in Dallas. Still, in spite of the injuries and the difficult schedule, OKC went 7-5 in February, staying atop the Western Conference standings. The Thunder still has one of the toughest remaining schedules, but even more important than finishing as the top seed in the West is getting the team fully healthy. As they inch closer to that, OKC’s depth will play a huge role, as they should be able to help manage games like this one against a lesser Dallas squad, giving everybody a little bit of a rest.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7 PM CT
Location: American Airlines Center (Dallas, Texas)
Television: FanDuel Sports 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: Brandon Williams
- SG: Max Christie
- SF: Naji Marshall
- PF: Khris Middleton
- C: Daniel Gafford
Injury Report
Thunder
- Branden Carlson (strained lower back) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (strained abdominal) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (strained right hamstring) is OUT.
Mavericks
- Marvin Bagley III (sprained neck) is OUT.
- Moussa Cisse (G League — two-way) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Cooper Flagg (sprained left midfoot) is OUT.
- Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery) is OUT.
- Miles Kelly (G League — two-way) is DOUBTFUL.
- Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) is OUT.
- Naji Marshall (right finger contusion) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Caleb Martin (lower back soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- P.J. Washington (sprained left ankle) is DOUBTFUL.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 33-29 against the Mavericks in the regular season (19-13 at home, 14-16 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.
- The Thunder is 2-0 against the Mavericks so far this season (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).