Player Ratings: Trying to make sense of a tough 121-115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder

What a game. The Dallas Mavericks rebounded on the road the second night of a back-to-back, beating the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder 121-115 while missing 7(!) players from their rotation. The Thunder were on a second night in a back-to-back even, after defeating Utah Jazz yesterday evening.

As with last night’s game against the Timberwolves, the Mavericks were missing a large part of their rotation. They were without Dereck Lively (right ankle stress fracture), Klay Thompson (left ankle sprain), Naji Marshall (illness), Luka Doncic (left calf strain), Dante Exum (right wrist surgery), Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) & Dwight Powell (right hip strain) . Phew! Winning without that many players should make this win count twice.

The Mavericks played with so much heart and effort the entire game, keeping it close through the 1st^St half, which ended with only 2 points. They played tough defense on SGA, preventing him from repeating his 50pt effort against the Jazz. The Mavericks then really turned up the defense in the 3rd^rd quarter, limiting the Thunder to just 21 points. Mavericks nemesis Lu Dort was ejected midway through the quarter for hitting Daniel Gafford below the belt. The 4th^th quarter was a back and forth affair with the Mavericks playing smart and gritty to hold off the Thunder’s comeback attempt. This win secures the Mavericks a 3-1 season series, making the Mavericks the only team to beat Oklahoma City multiple times, having done so three(!) times this season.

Let’s take a look at how the Mavericks scored in an impressive win against the rival Thunder:

Kyrie Irving: A

24 points/3 rebounds/4 assists/2 steals

The fanbase would have forgiven Kyrie for hanging on after playing a shade under 40 minutes last night against Minnesota. He did, though, and played superbly on the second night of back-to-backs to lead Dallas to victory. He hit timely shots and finished the game 8/17 from the floor and 4/8 from the 3pt line. His game gave him a team-high plus-16 for the game. There isn’t much more to say about Irving’s excellence at this point. He is the Mavericks MVP this season.

Spencer Dinwiddie: A+

28 points/1 rebound/3 assists

Bullying works. Maybe Spencer Dinwiddie is reading these characters? After earning a ‘D’ grade for his less than stellar play last night, Spencer bounced back with an outstanding effort against the Thunder. He had a team-high 28pts on a very efficient 11/14 shooting. His 3 misses were all from the 3pt line going 3/6 from beyond the arc. Kudos to Dinwiddie though for his stellar production in this game, something the zombie Mavericks are desperate for as they try to stay afloat in a loaded Western Conference playoff race.

PJ Washington: A+

22 points/19 rebounds/3 assists/3 steals/2 blocks

PJ’s game against the Thunder should be studied by all. It’s confusing to see him show up like this against this team. PJ was already a fan favorite at this point, but his play against Oklahoma City has cemented him as a modern Mavericks legend. He finished the game with his 11^th double-double on the season (a career high) with 22 points and 19(!) rebounds. He also filled the stat sheet with 3 assists and 5 shares. Let’s try and convince the Mavericks coaching staff to use some kind of brainwashing to trick PJ into thinking he’s playing the Thunder every night.

Daniel Gafford: B+

12 points/5 rebounds/2 assists/1 steal/1 block

Gafford endured a tough game physically, but was positive about using his size against a smaller Thunder team. He was accidentally kicked in the head by Cason Wallace at the end of the 1st^St half and spent some time lying on the floor, drawing a collective gasp from the fanbase already panicking about the team’s frontcourt depth. He was then hit below the belt by Lu Dort in the 3rd^rd quarter, leading to Dort’s expulsion. He had a great chase-down block on SGA in the 2nd^n.d half, making it his 17th^th straight game with a block that ties Shawn Bradley.

Kessler Edwards: A

7 points/4 rebounds/2 assists/1 steal

Edwards was a surprise start in this game as Kidd played with all our heads by re-adjusting the rotation with so many players out. He was fantastic in defense and was never out of place. He was a little TOO careful on the offensive end, going off some wide open shots, but he kept the ball moving and didn’t turn the ball over against an aggressive Oklahoma City Thunder defense. That’s all you can ask from a two-way player who is playing significant minutes (23 minutes) due to an injury crisis.

Quentin Grimes: B

9 points/1 rebound/3 assists

QG was decent enough in this game. He had a hard 1^St half, but bounced back with some timely 3pt shots in the 4th^th quarter keeps Torden at bay. Seeing Grimes hit some of those shots was great considering he’s had some tough shots in the last few games. He finished the game 2/5 from the floor and 2/4 from the 3pt line.

Maxi Glue: B

3 points/3 rebounds/4 assists

Maxi is such a polarizing player at this point. He played OK in his 20 minutes, which is more than his supposed minutes limit, and showed a lot of the typical Maxi stuff. He hit an important 3pt shot in the 4th^th quarter, which was crucial in keeping the Thunder’s comeback attempt and his game in the short throw when the Thunder double-teamed and caught Kyrie, was great. Tolle Sache, Maxi!

Olivier-Maxence Prosper: A+

14 points/3 rebounds/0 assists/1 steal

Most of us expected Prosper to start again and were surprised to see Edwards in the starting lineup. However, O-Max played well off the bench and brought his trademark energy and effort. He also hit shots in this game, going 4/6 from the field and 1/2 from the 3pt line. He was aggressive with his drives to the basket against a smaller Thunder team and was rewarded with 9(!) free throw attempts. Now if only he could hit them at a decent clip. He made only 5 of his 9 attempts. The only likely positive from this injury crisis could be the extra minutes O-Max gets, which is a big thing if it contributes to his development.

Brandon Williams: B+

2 points/3 rebounds/3 assists

The stat line might not read like much, but getting some moderately decent play from the Mavericks’ end-of-bench players is a great thing. Williams’ contribution in his 8 minutes allowed the team to soak up the minutes with Kyrie on the bench, and while he turned the ball over twice, he wasn’t an overall dud. At this point, that’s all we can ask for.

Markieff Morris: B+

0 points/1 rebounds/1 assist/1 steal

These were 1^St minutes that Keef played in 1^St half of this season, and the Mavericks were not run off the floor. Most braced for extended minutes from Morris after Gafford went down, but luckily that didn’t happen. He finished the game a plus-5 in his 5 minutes played. Great!

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