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Mavericks vs. Thunder recap: 4 thoughts from an intense 106-98 Mavericks win to the Oklahoma City Thunder

Published

2 months ago

January 18, 2025

Mavericks vs. Thunder recap: 4 thoughts from an intense 106-98 Mavericks win to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The short handed Dallas Mavericks (23-19) bested the short handed Oklahoma City Thunder (34-7) 106-98 in an intense matchup Friday night in Dallas. Kyrie Irving led all Mavericks with 25 points, five assists, and five rebounds, while Jalen Williams put up 19 points for the Thunder in a losing effort. Dallas got a much needed win, ending a three-game losing streak, while Oklahoma City suffered just their second loss in their last 21 games.

Dallas continued to be without starters Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively, but the big injury news was in Oklahoma. MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a late scratch with a sore wrist, missing his first game of the season and joining Isiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren in street clothes. The stars may have been missing, but it was still an intense matchup between two Western Conference contenders.

This was a game of runs, starting with Dallas taking a 10-0 lead off hot shooting from Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington. That was followed by the Thunder going on a 26-12 run to take a 26-22 lead into the second quarter. The Mavs countered with a huge 19-0 run at the end of the first half to go up by 20 points. If the second quarter was one of the best of the Mavericks season, the third quarter was one of the worst. Oklahoma City outscored Dallas 33-14 in the third, setting up a consequential fourth quarter.

It was a neck and neck fourth quarter until Spencer Dinwiddie hit two clutch threes, extending the lead to 101-93. Notable Thunder killer PJ Washington had a huge dunk to put the exclamation point on a great Mavericks win.

Here are our main thoughts from the game:

Role players stepped up

With Doncic’s return still being weeks away, Dallas has a huge offensive role to fill. When they play tough teams like the Thunder, the Mavericks need Kyrie Irving to play like an All-Star and get production from multiple role players. Tonight, they got both. Irving had 25 points and was joined in double figures by Washington, Dinwiddie, and Naji Marshall. Even more impressively, they combined to shoot 12/26 from three for an efficient 46%. They need each and every one of those points in a game that was a slugfest.

It’s impossible to replace what Doncic brings to this team, but the Mavericks need to find a way to win games without him in a competitive Western Conference. If they can get points from three or four role players, Dallas can beat anyone as evidenced by tonight.

Rebounding woes continue

Despite the Mavericks holding the Thunder to just 38% shooting from the field, this game came to the wire. That’s mainly down to Dallas giving up 20 second chance points off offensive rebounds. With Oklahoma City only scoring 98 points, second chance points accounts for a staggering 20% of their total offense. Without Hartenstein and Holmgren, Oklahoma City isn’t even a good rebounding team, yet that’s how they were able to stay in the game on a cold shooting night.

This is a familiar problem for Dallas, who are the fourth worst team in the league in giving up offensive rebounds. The Mavericks are simply not a good rebounding team, and they’re significantly worse without Luka. This is one of the biggest weaknesses with this team and needs to be a point of emphasis for the rest of the season.

Two more Mavericks injuries

It wouldn’t be a Dallas Mavericks game this season if there wasn’t a worrisome injury to a key rotation piece, but tonight we had two. Jaden Hardy went down with a right ankle sprain after a collision with Isiah Joe in the second quarter and did not return to the game. Then in the third quarter, Dwight Powell slipped closing out on Jaylin Williams and couldn’t get up off the floor. Powell was escorted to the locker room and also did not return to the game.

These injuries could not come at a worse time for Dallas. Hardy was having one of the best stretches of his career, scoring over 20 points against the Lakers and Pelicans in recent games. Powell was becoming a bigger part of the rotation with Lively out. The Mavs will have to get creative with their center rotation – look for Maxi Kleber and even Washington to play more minutes at center.

It’s unclear as of this writing whether Hardy or Powell will miss time, but they would join Doncic, Lively, Kessler Edwards, Dante Exum, and Jazian Gortman on an already lengthy injury report. The basketball gods are certainly testing the theory that this is the deepest Mavericks team of the Luka era. Exum seems to be close to returning, but Dallas has a real shortage of playable bodies in the short term.

These teams do not like each other

Even without the star players, this game was intense, highly competitive, and often chippy. PJ Washington was somewhat predictably at the center of the charged moments. Washington and Lu Dort wrestled over possession until Dort fell to the ground. Washington stood over Dort for a moment, which led to Aaron Wiggins shoving Washington. It was a whole lot of nothing, but led to double techs. Later in the game, Washington fouled Jaylen Williams in a hard, mid-air foul, which was ruled a flagrant one. If Oklahoma City fans hated Washington during last season’s playoff series, they’ll really hate him after tonight.

In general, it was a hard fought defensive battle. Players were diving for loose balls, playing aggressive defense, and living and dying on every shot. The Dallas crowd was loud and engaged – it felt like a playoff atmosphere.

If tonight is any indication, a full strength Mavericks and Thunder matchup in the playoffs would be one of the more exciting possible series. Let’s hope we get to see it come May.

You can listen to our latest podcast episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Pocketcasts, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma City takes on Chicago, seeks 10th straight victory

Published

8 hours ago

March 30, 2025

Press Room

Chicago Bulls (33-41, ninth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (62-12, first in the Western Conference)

Oklahoma City; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City heads into a matchup against Chicago as winners of nine games in a row.

The Thunder are 33-5 on their home court. Oklahoma City averages 120.1 points while outscoring opponents by 13.2 points per game.

The Bulls have gone 19-18 away from home. Chicago ranks second in the Eastern Conference with 18.2 fast break points per game led by Coby White averaging 4.5.

The Thunder are shooting 48.1% from the field this season, 1.2 percentage points higher than the 46.9% the Bulls allow to opponents. The Bulls are shooting 46.7% from the field, 3.2% higher than the 43.5% the Thunder’s opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals for the Thunder. Isaiah Joe is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

White is shooting 44.6% and averaging 20.4 points for the Bulls. Kevin Huerter is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 9-1, averaging 123.4 points, 45.9 rebounds, 27.2 assists, 8.4 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.1 points per game.

Bulls: 7-3, averaging 122.4 points, 45.7 rebounds, 30.4 assists, 7.9 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.1 points.

INJURIES: Thunder: Aaron Wiggins: day to day (achilles), Ousmane Dieng: day to day (calf), Jaylin Williams: day to day (hip), Alex Ducas: day to day (quadriceps), Nikola Topic: out for season (acl), Ajay Mitchell: out (toe).

Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu: out for season (shoulder), E.J. Liddell: day to day (illness), Lonzo Ball: day to day (wrist), Tre Jones: out (foot).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Who is Raegan Beers? What to know about Oklahoma star for March Madness game vs. UConn

Published

20 hours ago

March 29, 2025

Press Room

Who is Raegan Beers? What to know about Oklahoma star for March Madness game vs. UConn

Editor’s note: Follow UConn women’s basketball vs. Oklahoma live updates from their Sweet 16 matchup.

Raegan Beers and No. 3 Oklahoma aim for their fourth Elite Eight appearance as they face No. 2 UConn in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA women’s tournament.

The Oregon State transfer is the top scorer for the Sooners, putting up 25 points and 18 rebounds in their first-round game against Florida Gulf Coast University. In the second-round win over Iowa, the junior added 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Beers was named to the All-SEC First Team and is a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award.

Here is more of what you need to know about the Oklahoma star center.

Raegan Beers Career stats

Oregon State Beavers

2022-23: Played in 31 games, averaging 13.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
2022-23: Started 31 games, averaging 17.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma Sooners

2024-25: Started in 32 games, averaging 17.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Is Raegan Beers eligible for the WNBA draft?

Beers was born on March 23, 2004, which makes her 21 years old. She does not qualify for the WNBA Draft because the league requires domestic draft entrants to be at least 22 years old during the year in which the draft takes place and to have no remaining college eligibility. She would qualify for the 2026 draft.

Raegan Beers height

Beers is listed at 6-foot-4 on the official Oklahoma women’s baseball roster, sharing the title of tallest player with forward Kiersten Johnson.

Raegan Beers recruiting

Beers was a five-star recruit and the No. 10 overall player and the No. 3 center in the 2022 recruiting class by ESPN HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. She attended Valor Christian in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where she was a McDonald’s All-American and Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022.

Beers committed Oregon State over Stanford, Colorado, UConn and Notre Dame.

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Monarch butterfly migration map 2025: See when, where monarchs can be spotted in Oklahoma

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2025

Press Room

Monarch butterfly migration map 2025: See when, where monarchs can be spotted in Oklahoma

Every spring and fall, Oklahomans watch as the brightly patterned orange and black butterflies make a pitstop in the state during their miles-long, twice-yearly migrations.

The migratory monarch butterfly has a lifespan of two to six weeks, though the butterflies born at the end of the summer live eight to nine months in order to make the journey south and spend the winter clustered in trees in Mexico and California. In the spring, they head to their spring and summer breeding grounds and migrate as far north as southern parts of Canada.

The species was listed as endangered in 2022 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but is yet to be classified as such under the Endangered Species Act in the United States. Their numbers are ever-dwindling due to habitat loss and climate change.

Some monarchs have already been spotted in Oklahoma this spring, but as the peak migration approaches, here’s what you need to know.

When will monarchs be in Oklahoma?

The orange and black butterflies have already been spotted in the state, including in southern and central Oklahoma.

During the trip north, monarchs will be looking for milkweed and nectaring plants to sustain them on their journey.

See monarch migration map

Keep up with the monarch migration, and upload your own spottings, at maps.journeynorth.org.

Best places to see monarchs in Oklahoma City

Monarchs are often drawn to parks and gardens where milkweed and native nectaring plants can be found.

In Oklahoma, the traveling butterflies are more likely to be found near Interstate 35.

Oklahoma City destinations monarchs seem to enjoy year after year include:

Myriad Botanical Gardens
Will Rogers Gardens
Lake Hefner
Oklahoma City Zoo

Where to find milkweed, nectaring plants for monarchs

While the spring migration is already underway, it’s not too late to help out the monarchs with your plant choices. Monarchs benefit from planting done in the spring, summer or fall, according to Okies for Monarchs.

This can be any native nectaring plant, and especially milkweed so the butterflies can have a place to lay their eggs and start the next generation.

Okies for Monarchs has tips on building a garden suited for monarchs and other pollinators, like where and how to plant, size of garden and other butterfly-friendly features you can add.

Some local nurseries that sell both native plants and milkweed include:

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