Mavericks show their skills in win over Thunder, move to 3-1 against OKC on the season

OKLAHOMA CITY — The night began with two-way player Kessler Edwards, producer of five points and five errors this season, surprisingly inserted into the shorthanded Mavericks’ starting lineup.

Already without three starters, Dallas briefly lost another midway through the second quarter when center Daniel Gafford was knocked stiff, but the Mavericks battled hard against West-ranked Oklahoma City and pulled out a 121-115 victory in front of a stunned Paycom Center sellout crowd.

Incredibly, Dallas has handed Oklahoma City (34-8) three of its losses. No other team has beaten OKC more than once. And would you believe that the Thunder are 20-3 at home this season but 1-2 here against the Mavericks?

Well, the Mavericks probably believe that as they won 2-1 at the Paycom Center last May in the Western Conference semifinals.

“I would say our balance is probably a little different here,” Kyrie Irving said.

Irving played 38 minutes in the previous night’s home loss to Minnesota, so whether he would suit up Thursday was questionable at best, but he scored 24 points in 39 minutes.

“It’s got to be on the same level as every other game,” Irving said when asked where this win ranks in Dallas’ injury-riddled season. “If we had everyone healthy, this was a brave victory, I think I would have a different answer for you.

“But I’m crazy emotionally tired, so it’s not really a celebratory time that I’m having right now, just because we’ve been fighting. I’m so proud of the guys.”

After declaring after the Minnesota loss, “We can find a way to win with this group,” the Mavericks came forward, noting that OKC tormentor PJ Washington scored 22 points and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds.

Dallas (24-21) fielded its 22nd different starting lineup in 45 games, but led for most of the second half, getting 28 points from Spencer Dinwiddie and 14 off the bench from Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

“I thought this was a character win,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Maybe the best win of the season.”

A much-needed win, considering Dallas had lost five of its last six games; and 10 of the last 13. The Mavericks also had lost six straight road games — 0-for-2025 — dating back to the Dec. 27 win in Phoenix.

The Minnesota loss was the latest in a string of close defeats, but Washington had promised:

– Boys will soon return from injury. So the season is not over at all, and we have much, much more to show.”

Washington helped “limit” newly minted All-Star starter Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 31 points — a night after he erupted for a career-high 54 points against Utah.

Playing Oklahoma City without starters Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II, Klay Thompson and rotation players Naji Marshall and Jaden Hardy was challenging enough.

What seemingly made this night even more formidable was that Dallas’ rare success against the Thunder this season — and last year’s playoff series win — pushed the Mavericks into the Thunder’s crosshairs.

OKC had won 13 straight home games since a 121-119 loss Nov. 17 to the Mavericks, who also played without Doncic that night.

This was the fourth and final meeting of the season between these teams, who met in last season’s Western Conference semifinals.

It was also the teams’ second meeting in six days, with the Mavericks winning at the American Airlines Center, 106-98, when Gilgeous-Alexander was delayed by a sore wrist.

That game got chippy, especially after Washington stood over a fallen Lu Dort and drew a technical foul.

Midway through Thursday’s third quarter, Dort was ejected for hitting Gafford in the groin with his open hand while being screened by Gafford. That helped ignite a 19-6 run that helped turn a 2-point halftime deficit into as much as an 81-68 lead.

Irving’s presence in the lineup tonight was somewhat of a surprise, coming a night after he played 38 minutes while scoring 36 points against Minnesota.

Irving is just five games away from returning from a bulging disc in his lower back, an injury he has acknowledged will require maintenance for the rest of the season.

“I think it’s just where we are in the season and what’s at stake,” Kidd said when asked what went into the decision to have Irving play. “He’s going to play as many games as he can to put the team in position to win.”

Added Kidd: “His leadership is tremendous. It’s on full display.”

On and off the pitch, especially in the wake of Wednesday’s news that 20-year-old Lively will be out for at least a month with a stress fracture in her right ankle.

Irving said he, like most Mavericks players, got the news of Lively’s prognosis after waking up from an afternoon nap a few hours before facing Minnesota.

“I just have to figure it out,” he said. “A lot of guys are playing that coming into the season we knew they were going to have an impact, but we didn’t think they were likely to start games.”

Before Thursday’s start, the 6-8 forward Edwards had played a combined 51 minutes in 14 appearances — 15 of those minutes coming the previous night against the Timberwolves.

When Gafford was hit in the back of the shoulder and neck area and missed the final 5:16 of the first half, it further depleted a Dallas team that was already ultra-thin at center.

In stepped Prosper, though, and he scored 13 points in the first half and played with an attitude and aggression that seems contagious among the Mavericks.

“It’s just part of the game where you have to adjust and be mature about how you prepare and approach it,” Irving said. “Don’t lose your joy for the game.

“Personally, I get to deal with some of the best defenders, double teams and stuff like that, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m looking forward to the other side of management, which is to stick with who we have in the dressing room and stay positive.”

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.