An impressive victory by the OKC Thunder provided a solid template to carry forward into 2019. TI examines the three key takeaways from the match.
As the OKC Thunder head into 2019 with 36 games complete they boast a record of 23-13 and sit in the third seed. Denver currently resides in the top seat (also with 23 wins) with a one game edge since they’ve played two fewer games. Likewise, Golden State is seeded second based on the same amount of losses as the Thunder but have two extra wins.
In the home and home, back to back set the Thunder played versus the Mavericks it served to highlight the worst and very best of the squad. In fact, if I was to select a game the Thunder should bottle as an example for their remaining 46 games the win Monday would serve as the perfect template.
The Thunder jumped on the Mavericks right from the tip with Paul George setting the example on both sides of the floor. After an impressive showing by the wunderkid, Luka Doncic in Dallas, OKC did a much better job of making him work to score. The rookie still had some highlight moments, but for the most part, the Thunder kept him under control.
The lone Maverick who OKC didn’t contain was Harrison Barnes who led Dallas in scoring with 25 points. Barnes was especially hot from the perimeter connecting on seven of his nine shots. Given how open Barnes was it may have been the game plan to focus efforts on stopping Doncic and DeAndre Jordan primarily and living with Barnes getting hot.
Regardless of whether this was a specific choice or not, Barnes 25 points didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
With that let’s look at the three key takeaways from the 122-102 victory.