OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mavericks felt like they had a successful day even before they took the court late Thursday night against Oklahoma City.
They had received news earlier in the day that the sore left hamstring that sidelined superstar guard Luka Dončić was not considered serious.
So with no lingering soft-tissue issue, they could turn their attention to the Thunder.
And while they had to fight this battle without Dončić, the Mavericks showed they are not afraid to go hard at a quality opponent without their best player.
A hard-nosed effort came up just short in a 126-119 Thunder victory at Paycom Center, ending the Mavericks’ four-game winning streak.
While that left a mark on the Mavericks’ 38-29 record, their is no shame in losing to the 46-20 Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back and without Luka.
And the news about him was every bit as important as the outcome of the game. To say there was a sigh of relief probably was an understatement.
“The MRI was clean and (he) will be re-evaluated when we get back to Dallas,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Very good news.”
soft-tissue injuries like hamstrings, there’s always a level of uncertainty and concern with athletes. But it appears that Luka and the organization dodged a bullet.
With that the Mavericks could focus on the Thunder – until another injury cropped up.
With 4:12 left in the first quarter, Josh Green went down in the backcourt and limped off the court favoring his right foot and did not return.
“It’s a right ankle sprain,” coach Jason Kidd said postgame. “We’ll see how he feels (Friday). But he definitely hurt it and couldn’t come back. But I think X-rays were negative, so that’s a good thing.”
That further depleted the depth when it came to replacing what Dončić brings.
And yet, the Mavericks were hanging tough throughout this late-night affair, which started after 9 p.m., Dallas time, for national TV purposes. They were down by just 111-105 with 7 minutes to play and forced a Thunder miss. But P.J. Washington missed a three-pointer and Lu Dort hit one from distance for the Thunder to make it a 114-105 lead with 6:20 left.
From there, the Thunder kept the pedal mashed down and while the Mavericks made them sweat, when Shai Gilgeous Alexander made a reverse layup with 1:15 to play, the Thunder were up 124-114. Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points for the Thunder.
The Mavericks got a monster night from Kyrie Irving with 36 points to go with 12 assists. And it was impossible to be upset with the way the Mavericks played given the circumstances.
“I feel like the fight was there 100 percent of the game,” said Daniel Gafford, who saw his consecutive field-goals made streak end at 33 when he missed the first layup of the game. But he would finish with 19 points and 15 rebounds. “There were a lot of things we were frustrated by. But we fought to the end and that’s what makes a good team if you fight beginning to end no matter what happens though the stretch of the game.”
It was a night when the Mavericks suffered 19 turnovers that turned into 34 OKC points.
And while both teams did their share of barking at the referees, Kidd said that wasn’t the source of the outcome.
“I think the officials did their job tonight,” he said. “Give Oklahoma City credit. They were the better team. We turned the ball over. We had 19 turnovers for 30-some points. You’re not going to beat one of the best teams in the West by turning the ball over. We have to be better.
“I thought on the road, back-to-back, without Luka, I thought the guys did a great job. The energy and effort was there.”
And while the Thunder showed they are legitimate contenders by gutting out the win, the Mavericks acquitted themselves quite well, too.
“The best teams are going to compete at this time of year,” Kidd said. “Both teams are fighting for something. I thought it was a competitive game. There are going to be some missed calls, but you just got to play through it.
“I thought we handled the atmosphere. This is a great atmosphere. Just the live-ball turnovers. Playing without Luka, we gave ourselves a chance. Everybody in that locker room should be proud of themselves. We just came up short.”
The Mavericks were fighting a tough battle form the start without Dončić. That’s a loss of 34.3 points, 9 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Nobody on the planet can make up those differences on their own.
So it was going to have to be by committee.
Dante Exum got the start for Dončić and either he or Irving were always in the game to handle the bulk of the ballhandling duties. But it was a team effort when it came to picking up the slack left by Luka.
And when it was over, the showing by Oklahoma City, which is locked in a tight battle with Denver and Minnesota for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference, was impressive.
“I give props to them just because of how they’re holding themselves this year,” Gafford said. “You can’t do anything but tip your hat to them. They are consistent every night. They play the same way, with physicality, with speed and they got multiple guys that can get the shots they want. And they also have an MVP-caliber player on their team as well. You put those in a combination, it’s kind of tough to go against on a night-to-night basis.”
X: @ESefko
