The 5 takeaways from the Mavs’ 106-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder
Apr 1, 2019Dwain Price
TREY WITH THE TREYS. . .AND MORE: Trey Burke always told Mavs.com that whenever he got to play some extended minutes, he guaranteed that his production on the court would increase. That certainly was the case Sunday as Burke played 31 minutes, was 10-of-18 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown and finished the game with team highs of 25 points and eight assists. That’s the most minutes Burke has played since he was on the court for 32 minutes on Jan. 30, ironically, in a game against the Mavs when he was still playing for the New York Knicks. The very next day the Knicks traded Burke to the Mavs.
BRUNSON SHOWS HIS “IT” FACTOR: Before Sunday’s game, Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan explained to the media that Jalen Brunson has that “it” factor. Shortly thereafter, Brunson went out and showed exactly what Donovan was referring to. The rookie guard from Villanova scored 18 points and handed out four assists while playing a very heady floor game for the Mavs. And not only was Brunson 5-of-11 from the field. He also coaxed the Thunder into fouling him so much that he went to the line a career-high 10 times and made seven free throws. By the way, Donovan was the Team USA coach in 2014 and Brunson was the star point guard on that team that went 5-0 and captured the gold medal.
HARRIS OWNED THE SECOND QUARTER: Devin Harris stepped into a zone in the second quarter Sunday and everyone inside Chesapeake Energy Arena quickly knew it. Harris poured in 14 points in the second quarter alone. During that time frame he was 5-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. Ironically, of the 21 players who played Sunday, only five of them scored more points than the 14 Harris scored in the second quarter. And those 14 points are the most Harris has tallied in any (entire) game since he scored 15 points at Detroit on Jan. 31 when he played a season-high 23 minutes.
DIRK IS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: His jump shot didn’t strike its intended target the way he wanted it to on Sunday, but Dirk Nowitzki sure made up for that with his tremendous work on the boards. The 21-year veteran got in position for so many rebounds Sunday that he ended up with a season-high 13 boards. That’s the most rebounds for Nowitzki since he also pulled down 13 boards on Mar. 5, 2017 – in a game against Oklahoma City. In addition, 12 of the rebounds Nowitzki snatched on Sunday where on the defensive end of the court. He now needs just 17 defensive rebounds to become the fifth player in NBA history with at least 10,000 career defensive rebounds.
OKC’s BIG 3 GOT THEIRS, MAVS STILL PREVAILED: It mattered not to the Mavs that Oklahoma City’s Big 3 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Steven Adams were able to combine for 72 points, 37 rebounds and 15 assists. That still wasn’t enough to prevent the Mavs from winning just their eighth road game of the season. George (27 points, 11 rebounds) and Adams (20 points, 15 rebounds) each registered a double-double, and Westbrook (25 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) pumped out his NBA-high 30th triple-double of the season. And although the Mavs played without the injured Luka Doncic, they still had enough juice in the tank to silence the Thunder.
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