National Basketball Association
Dallas 87, Oklahoma City 78
When: 8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #23 Tre Maddox, #11 Derrick Collins, #88 Matt Kallio
Attendance: 3508

Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points each to lead the host Dallas Mavericks to an 87-78 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

It was the lowest-scoring game of the season for both teams. The Mavericks head to the All-Star break with wins in three consecutive games and nine in their past 11 games.

The Thunder, who still have a game remaining before the break, Thursday at San Antonio, have lost two consecutive games and nine of their past 13.

Dallas won Wednesday without star guard Luka Doncic, who missed the game due to lower back tightness. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said before the game that Doncic has been dealing with the soreness for more than two weeks.

The Mavericks struggled from behind the 3-point arc for the first 2 1/2 quarters, missing their first eight from long distance and going 1 of 22 before finally getting going midway through the third.

Then Dallas got hot from beyond the arc, hitting four during an 18-2 run to take control.

Without Doncic, Porzingis came up big, going 7 of 15 from the floor, hitting three 3-pointers and recording 13 rebounds.

Josh Richardson added 16 points for Dallas while Jalen Brunson, starting for Doncic, had 11.

Oklahoma City hung with the Mavericks early, thanks in part to four 3-pointers in the first quarter and Dallas' struggles from beyond the arc.

But the Mavericks, despite missing all seven 3-point attempts in the second quarter, got out front before halftime, outrebounding the Thunder by six in the second quarter and turning those into seven fastbreak points.

The Thunder shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the floor on the night and were just 9 of 39 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 15 points, going just 5 of 15 from the floor. Darius Bazley had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Luguentz Dort and Bazley were a combined 4 of 20 from the floor.

The Thunder had just 13 assists, a season low, and snapped a string of 14 consecutive games with 20 or more assists.

The teams combined for just 29 fourth-quarter points.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   Dallas
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 15 Scoring Tim Hardaway Jr. 19
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 3 Assists Trey Burke 6
Darius Bazley 10 Rebounds Kristaps Porzingis 13
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 4 Free Throws Made Tim Hardaway Jr. 5
Isaiah Roby 3 Steals Josh Richardson 4
Al Horford 2 Blocks Maxi Kleber 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 78 33.3 9-39 11-17 13 45 4 6 13
Dallas 87 38.6 8-40 15-19 18 53 3 8 15
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .471 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Thunder have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .476 after a loss.