Dallas, TX
Mavericks Avoid Late Comeback from OKC and Win 121-119
The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up its third loss of the season to the Dallas Mavericks, losing 121-119.
In a game where the Thunder struggled all night, they gave themselves the opportunity to win with under a minute to play. The ball rolled the right way for them and multiple players hit clutch shots, but it was not enough in the end.
OKC’s inability to rebound the basketball put them behind 66-58 at halftime and in a hole in general the entirety of the matchup. Maverick center Daniel Gafford grabbed six first-half rebounds and finished with 12 total. A combination of him and forward PJ Washington allowed the Mavericks to out-rebound the Thunder 53 to 29 the entire night.
The Thunder trailed 39-34 at the first quarter’s end. Gilgeous-Alexander closed the half out with a plethora of free throws and rookie guard Ajay Mitchell found his mid-range spots to add on. A combination of Kyrie Irving, Naji Marshall and Jaden Hardy helped keep the score close for the Mavericks by the first quarter’s end.
OKC and Dallas went back and forth the entire first quarter until the Mavericks pulled away late. They maintained that lead for the rest of the second quarter too, with Irving, Marshall and guard Quentin Grimes all contributing. Irving finished with 10 first-half points and Marshall with 11 off the bench.
In need of a second-half spark, OKC star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked to improve off of his 20-point first-half performance. Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe started the OKC scoring off with a triple and Lu Dort added to the total by getting to the free-throw line as did Gilgeous-Alexander in the mid-range area.
The X-factor off the bench for the Mavericks was Marshall. As soon as he entered the game at any point, he impacted scoring and the intensity on the defensive side of the ball. He only scored once in the third quarter but impacted the game in other ways,
A surprising impact player for OKC was first-round rookie Dillon Jones. He finished the night with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, the best performance of his young career. He scored five points and threw two assists in the third quarter resulting in a 97-92 lead in favor of Dallas.
With Luka Doncic out for the Mavericks, Dallas needed others to step up in his absence. Alongside Marshall, Jaden Hardy stood out as a scorer. He finished with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting and did an excellent job getting to the rim and creating space on mid-range attempts. Both Marshall and Hardy would prove valuable assets down the stretch for Dallas.
In a stretch of play where Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench, Dallas managed to take advantage at the beginning of the fourth quarter stretching its lead to 11 points. Fortunately for the Mavericks, the scoring gap was too much to overcome, even with Gilgeous-Alexander in the game.
The story of the night for the Mavericks was its bench production. They got another assist from the depths of the bench, this time from Spencer Dinwiddie. He scored all of his points in the fourth quarter and extended the Maverick lead, finishing with 120 points in total.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points on the night, coupled with two rebounds and eight assists. His third 30-point performance of the season was not enough to overcome Dallas. The same reason OKC has seen an uptick in narrow wins or losses in the last four games has been the lack of rebounding. As long as Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are unavailable, rebounding will be a challenge.
The Thunder trailed by eight points with around a minute remaining and in need of stops, forced multiple. Gilgeous-Alexander nailed a triple with 25 seconds remaining to narrow the deficit to three and forced and recovered possession after a late jump ball, but could not tie the score as the clock hit zero. The late comeback attempt was heroic, but simply not enough.
OKC plays next against the San Antonio Spurs at 8:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Nov. 19 on the road in San Antonio.
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Editor’s note: See World Cup standings and scenarios updated in real time
The Socceroos live on at the 2026 World Cup.
Australia and Paraguay played to a 0-0 draw on Thursday night, which was good enough for Australia to secure second place in Group D and advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. Paraguay is likely to advance as a high-ranking third place team, but nothing is confirmed at the moment.
SHOP: Australia round of 32 World Cup tickets
Australia will head to Dallas where they will play their first elimination match on Friday, July 3 against the second-place team from Group G.
While we don’t yet know Australia’s opponent, we know the location, date and time of the match, which means tickets are already available. Here is everything you need to know in order to buy Australia World Cup tickets in Dallas.
Shop Australia Round of 32 tickets
Australia round of 32 World Cup tickets
As of publication, the cheapest round of 32 ticket to see Australia in Dallas on Friday, July 3 is $937. Any ticket for less than $1,000 at this point in the tournament is a steal considering most other prices.
Australia Round of 32 opponent
As the runner-up of Group D, Australia will take on the second-place finisher from Group G. Australia’s opponent will be finalized on Friday, but given the current standings it could be any of the following four teams:
- Egypt
- Iran
- Belgium
- New Zealand
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Australia World Cup schedule
- Australia vs. Turkey – WIN 2-0
- Australia vs. United States – LOSS 2-0
- Australia vs. Paraguay – DRAW 1-1
- Friday, July 3 – Australia vs. Group G runner up at AT&T Stadium in Dallas (round of 32) – Shop tickets
World Cup Group D Standings
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Editor’s note: See World Cup standings and scenarios updated in real time
Ivory Coast is headed to the knockout round at the 2026 World Cup.
With everything on the line Thursday afternoon, the Ivory Coast played perhaps its best match of the tournament so far to lock down second place in Group E and advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. Ivory Coast will head to Dallas where they will play their first elimination match on Tuesday, June 30 against the second-place team from Group I.
SHOP: Ivory Coast round of 32 World Cup tickets in Dallas
While we don’t yet know Ivory Coast’s opponent, we do know that it will either be France or Norway, meaning either way the African squad will have to defend against one of the best goal scorers in the world.
Here is everything you need to know in order to buy Ivory Coast World Cup tickets in Dallas.
Shop Ivory Coast Round of 32 tickets
Ivory Coast round of 32 World Cup tickets
As of publication, the cheapest round of 32 ticket to see Ivory Coast in Dallas on Tuesday, June 30 is $895, making this one of the cheapest tickets for the round of 32.
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Ivory Coast Round of 32 opponent
As the runner-up of Group E, Ivory Coast will take on the second-place finisher from Group I. Ivory Coast’s opponent will be finalized on Friday, but given the current standings it will be either France or Norway.
Shop Ivory Coast Round of 32 tickets
Ivory Coast World Cup schedule
- Sunday, June 14 – Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador – WIN 1-0
- Saturday, June 20 – Ivory Coast vs. Germany – LOSS 2-1
- Thursday, June 25 – Ivory Coast vs. Curacao – WIN 2-0
- Tuesday, June 30 (Round of 32) – Ivory Coast vs. Group I runner up at AT&T Stadium in Dallas – Shop tickets
World Cup Group E standings
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Oftentimes, it’s a good idea to extend players early. The Dallas Cowboys have learned this the hard way as they’ve allowed negotiations with key contributors such as Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons to get out of hand.
Prescott was able to use his leverage to land a contract worth $60 million per season, which was a record at the time. Lamb held out during that same offseason, eventually landing a deal worth $34 million annually, whereas Parsons forced his way out after his negotiations stalled.
To their credit, the Cowboys might have tried to avoid more issues by signing a few players early. That includes guard Tyler Smith, who landed a four-year, $96 million extension in 2025. That has proven to be a home run, but the same can’t be said for another one of their big extensions.
Dallas decided to lock up cornerback DaRon Bland, signing the former fifth-round pick to a four-year, $92 million extension. This was a surprise move from the Cowboys since Bland was coming off a frustrating season, which was marred by a foot injury. The Cowboys were banking on Bland returning to the form we saw in 2023, but that wasn’t the case.
Bland continued to struggle with durability and wasn’t the impact player we saw during his breakout season when he was on the field. Now, he enters his fifth season in the league with a hefty price tag, and there are questions about his long-term status with the team.
DaRon Bland’s cap hit in 2026 is a problem
According to Over The Cap, Bland has the fifth-highest cap hit on the team this season. Bland, who is earning an annual average salary of $23 million, has a hit of $17 million this year.
The good news for the Cowboys is that they seemed to protect themselves slightly with this deal. While they can’t feasibly move on in 2026, even if Bland loses his starting job, they do have a way out of his deal next year.
Dallas can release Bland ahead of the 2027 season while absorbing a dead cap hit of $12.941 million. That would essentially make his deal a two-year contract for $36.355 million. That’s still not an ideal situation for the Cowboys, but that’s also what happens when the front office rolls the dice.
It’s also an unfortunate trend, as the Cowboys decided to extend Michael Gallup and Terence Steele while coming off injury-plagued seasons, and the results weren’t much better.
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