Cooper Flagg had 26 points, eight assists, and five rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 120-96 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Flagg had struggled against the Thunder as a rookie but got off to a hot start with 12 first-quarter points.
Even short-handed, though, with three starters out with injuries, Oklahoma City hung close with the Mavericks for much of the first half, cutting a 12-point deficit to just four late in the second quarter before Dallas took a 65-59 lead into the break.
But early in the third quarter, the Mavericks reeled off an 11-0 run to take control for good.
That run started with Flagg finding Kyrie Irving for a floater and ended with Flagg’s pull-up jumper.
Dallas held the Thunder to just 37 second-half points.
After shooting better than 51% from the field in the first half, Oklahoma City shot just 30% from the floor after halftime.
Flagg finished with no turnovers in nearly 33 minutes.
The loss was Oklahoma City’s first of the season, snapping a four-game winning streak. It also snapped a 15-game winning streak in the month of October. The Thunder hadn’t lost a game in October since Oct. 29, 2023.
The Thunder were looking to become the first team in NBA history to begin three consecutive seasons 5-0.
Oklahoma City was without Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren for the second consecutive game after Williams and Wallace suffered long-term injuries in Sunday’s win over the Clippers. The Thunder were also without Alex Caruso.
One of the biggest differences came at the 3-point line, where Dallas hit 16 while Oklahoma City was just 5 of 32 from beyond the arc.
P.J. Washington added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks as eight players scored in double figures. Another of those players scoring 10 or more points was Caleb Martin, who made his season debut after missing the first four games of the season due to injury.
Two days after scoring a career-high 30 points, Ajay Mitchell led Oklahoma City with 29 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander never found a consistent shooting rhythm, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
The Thunder came into the game averaging 23.3 points off turnovers but managed just nine on 11 Dallas turnovers while the Mavericks turned Oklahoma City’s 14 turnovers into 16 points.
–Field Level Media
