3 takeaways from OKC Thunder 105-103 loss to Dallas

Three takeaways the OKC Thunder can take from its 105-103 road defeat to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

After battling back from a 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the OKC Thunder lost a tight one to the Dallas Mavericks 105-103 in Texas. While losing a close game is obviously disappointing, Oklahoma City will be ruing its execution down the stretch, blowing a six point lead with less than two minutes to go thanks to lazy play and careless errors.

Paul George was sensational scoring the ball, posting 36 points on 12-24 shooting, 3-11 from three and 8-11 from the line but made five crucial mistakes coming down the stretch. After making a tough basket from three to push OKC’s lead to six with 1:54 remaining, PG13 made a host of uncharacteristic mistakes.

He dribbled the ball off the foot of DeAndre Jordan, turning the ball over and resulting in a fast break bucket. George then proceeded to foul on three consecutive Dallas possessions, gifting them six free throw attempts to close the gap to one with 54 seconds remaining. Russell Westbrook went on to miss a mid-range jumper on the next possession and Dennis Smith Jr drove to the cup in what would be the game winning basket.

PG13 attempted a difficult step-back jumper over Smith but came up short. OKC had one last chance to win the game when Russ attempted an off-balance triple from the corner but clanged off the side of the iron.

To say the loss was disappointing is an understatement but a great learning curve for the Thunder seeking consistency on the road. Here are three takeaways from the game.