The OKC Thunder seek its second consecutive road win travelling to Texas to take on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
Behind Russell Westbrook’s 40-point explosion, the OKC Thunder broke a two-game losing streak defeating the Phoenix Suns 118-102 in Arizona on Friday night. OKC registered its 22nd win of the season and a conference-best 10th away victory to move two games ahead of fourth-place Los Angeles Clippers.
With Paul George and Alex Abrines ruled out prior to the tip, Russ was back to his MVP best. The Brodie attacked the lane and cradled all defenders to sleep on the block. Westbrook got going early hitting seven of his first eight shots in the first quarter to register 15 points.
However, the biggest surprise of the first half came from Abdel Nader.
The 25-year-old was inserted into the game after Terrance Ferguson departed with illness and hit five of his first eight shots en route to 13 points at the half. The Egyptian took a leaf out of Russ’ book, attacking the paint and finishing two difficult and-1 opportunities over Phoenix defenders. Despite his surprise contributions, the Thunder lead by one at the break.
OKC and Phoenix traded buckets in the third but the fourth quarter was where Dennis Schroder finally arrived. After starting the game 1-9, the German caught fire hitting seven of his nine shots in the final stanza to build a double-digit lead. Schroder was excellent distributing the ball, throwing the ball down low on a Patrick Patterson mismatch for a right hook and hitting Adams on a beautiful alley-oop pass. Westbrook checked back in with around nine minutes to go and the rest was history.
Dallas lose a close one to New Orleans
Despite a 34-point night from rookie sensation Luka Doncic, the Mavericks lost to Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans 114-112. AD put up a monstrous 48 point, 17 rebound performance to drive the Pels to its 16th win of the season. The superstar big man hit the winning jumper with 41.6 seconds remaining and Dallas were unable to capitalize on last shot opportunities.
The Mavericks sit 12th in the Western Conference with a 16-18 record but possess a strong 14-3 home court record. While the team has won just three of its last 10 games, six have been on the road.
Dallas leads the season series 1-0 after defeating OKC 111-96 back in November.