Thunder injury update: Oklahoma City opened its first loss of the season without four players, and the Dallas Mavericks turned that shortage into a 120-96 home win on Wednesday. Cooper Flagg led Dallas with 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Flagg had struggled against Oklahoma City as a rookie. He scored 12 in the first quarter this time, and he finished with no turnovers in nearly 33 minutes.
The Mavericks led 65-59 at halftime. Early in the third quarter they ran off 11 straight points, and the game never returned to contact.
Thunder injury update: four unavailable in Dallas
Oklahoma City was without Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren for a second consecutive game. Williams and Wallace suffered long-term injuries in Sunday's win over the Clippers. Alex Caruso was also out.
The Thunder still made the first half hold. They cut a 12-point Dallas lead to four late in the second quarter and shot better than 51 percent from the field before the break.
After halftime that surface cracked. Oklahoma City shot 30 percent from the floor in the second half and scored 37 points across the final two quarters.
The 11-0 run that reset the third quarter
The sequence started with Flagg finding Kyrie Irving for a floater and ended with Flagg's pull-up jumper. In between, Dallas turned a six-point halftime cushion into a double-digit lead it protected the rest of the way.
The number that holds the quarter is 37. That is all Oklahoma City managed after halftime, against 59 before it.
Dallas also controlled the turnover ledger. The Thunder came in averaging 23.3 points off turnovers and managed nine on 11 Dallas giveaways. The Mavericks scored 16 off Oklahoma City's 14 turnovers.
Dallas wins the three-point line
The Mavericks hit 16 3-pointers. Oklahoma City made 5 of 32. That is 48 Dallas points from deep against 15, a separation the Thunder's half-court attack could not close without three starters and a fourth rotation piece.
Eight Mavericks scored in double figures. P.J. Washington added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Caleb Martin reached double digits in his season debut after missing the first four games with an injury.
For Dallas, the spread is the structural note: the scoring load did not sit on one shoulder, and the ball moved through Flagg without leaking into live-ball turnovers.
What Oklahoma City carries forward
Ajay Mitchell led the Thunder with 29 points, two days after a career-high 30. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander never found a consistent rhythm, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak and a 15-game run in October. Oklahoma City had not lost a game in October since Oct. 29, 2023. A bid to become the first team in NBA history to start three consecutive seasons 5-0 ended with it.
Williams and Wallace are long-term absences, so the shortened rotation Oklahoma City used in Dallas is the shape it holds for now. The 30 percent second half is the number opposing defenses will test first.
The original report is from Field Level Media/Reuters, published by gmanetwork.com.
