Grading Thunder players in overtime win over Dallas

The Oklahoma City Thunder came all the way back from down 16 in the fourth quarter to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 117-111 in overtime. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for OKC, scoring 38 points in the win, but he had help from some key performances from the supporting cast.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 38 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder in route to a comeback victory in Dallas.

Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks was back-and-forth until the Mavericks pulled away with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Then, the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off some late-game heroics to steal a win on the road.

Coming into this game the Mavericks ranked first in the league in points per game and offensive rating, led by superstar Luka Doncic, who has scored over 30 points in every game so far this season. However, the Thunder were not phased by the numbers and played great on the defensive side of the floor.

Luguentz Dort locked up Paul George in Thursday night’s contest against the Los Angeles Clippers and he looked stellar on defense against Luka Doncic on Sunday. Doncic recorded a 30-point triple-double for the Mavs but was extremely inefficient from the field. On the last play of regulation, Doncic put the moves on Dort, but he stood his ground and played phenomenal defense to force a miss and send the game into overtime.

Off the bench, Isaiah Joe played the role of the hero, giving the Thunder much-needed life in the fourth quarter. Joe signed a multi-year contract with the Thunder this offseason but failed to see consistent playing time in the first five games of the year. However, Joe was lights out for OKC and may have earned himself a spot in the rotation.

The Thunder are now currently tied with the defending champion Golden State Warriors with a 3-3 record. OKC continues to play hard and compete with playoff teams. It’ll be interesting to see if the Thunder will build on this three-game win streak, but one thing is for sure: they’re a fun team to watch.