The Oklahoma City Thunder opened up the second half of their regular season with an impressive win over a short-handed Dallas Mavericks squad on Thursday night. With the Mavs playing the second half of a back-to-back, both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis were held out – and the Thunder took advantage with a wire-to-wire win, but nearly let the Mavs steal away a win late in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder led 99-80 with 7:43 remaining in the game, but Dallas pulled to within two points in the final two minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 32 points on the night, hit back-to-back clutch shots to restore a multi-possession lead to the Thunder, and OKC held out from the free-throw line to hold on for a 116-108 win.
In his first career start for the Thunder after his time in the G League, Aleksej Pokusevski scored 14 points – including a massive 3-pointer in the final minute – along with eight rebounds and three assists. Rookie center Moses Brown also had a strong performance with eight points and 12 rebounds.
💥 Moses Brown 💥
8p | 12r in 19 mins pic.twitter.com/I6UzhVXz5K— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 12, 2021
Here’s what people were saying about Thursday’s win: