The Dallas Mavericks evened the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night, and now the matchup shifts to the Lone Star State. The Mavericks will face off against the Thunder Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday afternoon. Day games can be a little weird, so hopefully the Mavericks come out focused and ready to play.
The Mavericks looked like they were finding their rhythm again Thursday, with Luka Doncic resembling the player who scorched the league all season. Add in the fact that P.J. Washington had the game of his life, and well, it’s no wonder they beat the Thunder on the road. If they play the same way at home in Dallas, there’s a good chance they’ll take a 2-1 series lead.
Here are a couple thoughts to ponder before the game starts:
Will the hot shooting continue?
The odd thing about the Mavericks’ hot finish to the season is that they stopped shooting well from deep. They only shot 36 percent as a team from behind the arc after the All-Star break. Instead, they wore teams down with defense and killed them in the paint and from the midrange.
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Thursday night, that changed. They shot the lights out against the Thunder, hitting almost 49 percent of their 37 3-point attempts. It put pressure on Oklahoma City early, and the Thunder never recovered. They couldn’t keep up with the Mavericks’ shooting. Dallas doesn’t necessarily have to shoot that well from three again, but even hitting that close will put the Thunder on their heels.
Did Kyrie Irving have a bad game, or have the Thunder figured out how to contain him?
Irving was held to just nine points in Game 2, which is just completely out of character for him. Even when he struggles, Irving manages to manufacture points and get into the low twenties. But Irving was oddly passive, only taking eight shots total, and only two 3-point attempts. Did the Thunder figure out some way to turn him into just a distributor? Irving had 11 assists, which is great, but the Mavericks need his scoring as well. Maybe this was just a case of Irving playing within the flow of the game, and the shots just weren’t there. But if Game 3 passes with Irving taking less than 10 shots, the Mavericks might be in trouble.
Central Arkansas Bears (3-8) at Oklahoma Sooners (11-0)
Norman, Oklahoma; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Sooners -28.5; over/under is 145.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 14 Oklahoma hosts Central Arkansas after Jeremiah Fears scored 30 points in Oklahoma’s 87-86 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.
The Sooners have gone 6-0 at home. Oklahoma has a 2-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Bears are 0-6 on the road. Central Arkansas ranks fourth in the ASUN with 23.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Brayden Fagbemi averaging 4.6.
Oklahoma averages 82.0 points, 5.2 more per game than the 76.8 Central Arkansas allows. Central Arkansas averages 9.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.5 more made shots on average than the 6.5 per game Oklahoma allows.
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TOP PERFORMERS: Fears is scoring 17.9 points per game with 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Sooners.
Layne Taylor is scoring 17.0 points per game and averaging 4.4 rebounds for the Bears.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sooners: 10-0, averaging 80.9 points, 29.3 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 10.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.5 points per game.
Bears: 3-7, averaging 73.0 points, 34.3 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 8.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 38.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.7 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a commercial fire near the area of NW 10th and N Western Avenue.
OKCFD were at the scene of a commercial fire around 7 p.m. Saturday night, when they arrived there was heavy smoke visible from multiple floors of a boarded up building.
One adult female was found in the building and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
At this time no cause has been reported.
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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
NORMAN — Bowl season is a bit unconventional for Navy.
The Midshipmen annually play against Army six days after the bowl schedule is released. That was the case this year, as Navy beat the Black Knights 31-13 on Dec. 14.
Beating Army is always a highlight for the Midshipmen. But the drawback for them is that they have less time than their bowl opponent to prepare for the game.
In this case, that’s Oklahoma. The Sooners will enter the game with more than two weeks of preparation for Navy’s triple-option offense.
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“It’s just a little different,” Navy coach Brian Newberry told reporters earlier this week. “They’ve known they’re going to play us for a little time now.”
Navy Coach, Oklahoma Native Brian Newberry Grew Up On OU Football
Navy does, however, enter the Armed Forces Bowl with momentum.
The Midshipmen (9-3) eased past Army last week in Landover, MD. They outgained the Black Knights 384-179 and forced Army quarterback Bryson Daily to throw three interceptions.
Navy’s rivalry win was its third in the last four games after the Midshipmen went on a two-game skid in the middle of the season. Newberry cited his team’s physicality in recent games, particularly in the Midshipmen’s drubbing of Army.
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“I was so impressed with how our kids handled the moment,” Newberry said. “Army’s a really, really good football team. I thought we physically dominated the game in the way that we blocked, beat blocks, the way we tackled. I thought we outplayed them in all three phases, so I’m really, really proud of that.”
A stark difference between the teams is the number of players that have entered the transfer portal.
The Sooners have seen 25 players from their 2024 team enter the portal. The Midshipmen have suffered only one departure in the winter portal window with defensive back Lorenzo Vitti.
On one hand, that makes Oklahoma preparation tough for Navy.
“It’s interesting,” Newberry said. “We’re going through their two-deep and trying to figure out who’s going to play and who isn’t. It’s a little bit of a challenge in that regard. And it could certainly change with a different quarterback.”
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But largely, the Midshipmen’s lack of transfers gives Newberry confidence that his team will be bought in for one more game in 2024.
“The portal can affect us, players can jump in the portal — we’re not getting that,” Newberry said. “It’s challenging to build a culture anywhere in college football right now, one that’s built on a certain level of trust. They know each other really, really well. They’ve fought through adversity. They stay the course, they pay the price and they have an opportunity.”
Navy will also play for more than just another win; the Midshipmen are looking to make history.
Navy has reached the 10-win mark just four times in program history. The Midshipmen did so three times under former coach Ken Niumatalolo from 2009-2019.
Having a shot at history while playing Oklahoma — the state that Newberry hails from — excites the coach.
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“It’s the last time that this team gets to play together,” Newberry said. “They want to go out the right way against a storied program like Oklahoma. It’s a great reward to play in a bowl game, but it’s a game we want to win.”
The Midshipmen and Sooners will play in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth at 11 a.m. on Dec. 27.
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