Thunder Gameday: Oklahoma City Takes on Dallas in Mid-Day Matchup

The Thunder head to American Airlines Center to face the Mavericks for the second time this season on Saturday afternoon.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's slated to travel to Dallas for the second time this season to battle against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on Saturday afternoon – a matchup which the Thunder was able to take in the previous meeting. 

Dallas comes into the contest on a three-game win streak, all three games coming versus Eastern Conference teams in the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and the surging New York Knicks.

For Oklahoma City, it's three-game win streak was cut short versus the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, falling 124-117 in a neck-and-neck game down the stretch.

This is just the second of four meetings between the two teams on the season, leaving the last two matchups in March and April to be inside Paycom Center.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

ODDS:

The Thunder enter the day as 2.5-point favorites against the Mavericks, and the total over/under is 240.5 points.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

The obvious key matchup is between the top two scorers in the entire NBA – Doncic (34.6 PPG) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1 PPG). 

Last time these two teams met, Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 17 to place second in team-scoring – which has only happened seven times this season. It was still enough to get the seven-point victory behind Jalen Williams' 23 points, even in spite of Doncic's 36 points on 50% shooting.

But contributive scoring across the board from Oklahoma City is what propped them up, as eight players registered double-digit scoring outings. If Gilgeous-Alexander is limited to under 20 points again in this matchup, he'll have to rely on his peers to pick up the production offensively. 

Another point of emphasis should be on Dallas' injury status.

While the Thunder have recently dealt with the injury bug following a seemingly pristine first half of the season, the team isn't dealing with any injuries Saturday afternoon besides its recently acquired piece in Gordon Hayward (calf).

This means Isaiah Joe will see his first on-court action since Oklahoma City’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 29 after suffering a bruised sternum.

Conversely, the Mavericks will be without its starting rookie Dereck Lively II (nose) and Dante Exum (knee) as reported on Friday – while Doncic (nose), Kyrie Irving (thumb) and Maxi Kleber (toe) are all game-time decisions for Saturday's game.

Irving and Doncic are both considered probable to compete, both of which are vital for their chances to come out on top tomorrow.

RECORDS:

Oklahoma City Thunder (35-16) vs. Dallas Mavericks (29-23)

INJURIES:

Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game day injury report that will release later today.

WHEN:

Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM CT

LOCATION:

American Airlines Center - Dallas, TX

TV/RADIO:

Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start Your Free Trial)

FINAL WORD:

Oklahoma City would have a relatively slight matchup without Irving and Doncic, but that more than likely won't be the case.

Though coming off a loss, the Thunder will be hungry to compete again versus the Mavericks behind the fans of American Airlines Center.

Next, Oklahoma City will head back to Bricktown to conclude its back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.

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