OKC Thunder: 3 Takeaways following the 111-96 loss to the Dallas Mavericks

After a nice stretch of wins, the OKC Thunder suffered a comprehensive 111-96 loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.

Playing the third game in five nights, the OKC Thunder traveled to Texas to take on rookie sensation Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. On a seven game win streak, Oklahoma City were riding a wave of momentum performing admirably in the absence of star Russell Westbrook.

Unfortunately the Mavericks weren’t messing around.

After trailing by one point at the end of the first quarter, Dallas sucker punched OKC in the nose taking control of the contest on the back of a 34-point second quarter. The Mavericks burned the Thunder with some impressive shot making and ball movement, connecting on 13 of their 18 attempts from the field and 6-8 from deep. The Mavericks led by as much as 22 in the second but the Thunder launched a 15-5 run to trail at the half 57-45.

Instead of riding a momentum shift coming out of half time, OKC came out flat allowing the Mavericks to go on a 11-2 run to push the lead to 19. Oklahoma City made a push to close Dallas’ lead to 10 with a minute remaining. With the Thunder threatening to get back in the game, Alex Abrines missed a wide open 3-point attempt that would’ve cut the Mavericks lead to seven. Instead, Dallas corralled the rebound and J.J. Barea made a 14-foot jumper for a five point swing. The Spaniards wide open miss was the straw that broke the camels back.

The Mavericks played steady throughout the fourth, controlled the tempo and clock to perfection, closing the door on an OKC comeback to take the victory. Dallas move to 4-8 on the season while the the Thunder drop to 7-5.

Here are three takeaways from the game.