Stats rundown: 4 numbers from a Dallas Mavericks loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, losing 100-96. The loss means the series is even at two games a piece, and Game 5 shifts back north to Oklahoma City. The Mavericks had an opportunity to take control of the series, as teams that go up 3-1 win 95 percent of the time. Now they’ll have to win two of the next three games in order to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Shia Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 34 points, as well as eight rebounds. P.J. Washington led the Mavericks with 21 points, and also tied with Luka Doncic with 12 rebounds for most in the game. Doncic only scored 18 points, and Kyrie Irving didn’t do much better, scoring only nine points.

Here are four numbers to know from the game:

11: The number of missed free throws by the Mavericks

The Mavericks were awful at the charity stripe, only shooting 52 percent. That’s 11 misses from the line. Perhaps you noticed, Dallas lost by four points! Maybe hitting even half of those misses means they win the game. Championship contenders don’t give away free points, and that’s exactly what the Mavericks are doing. They need to fix it, immediately.

7: The number of turnovers by Doncic

Perhaps the most depressing stat of the night—Doncic had more turnovers (7) than field goals made (6). He’s banged up, obviously tired, but he has to be better. Sure, he ended up with a triple-double—18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists—but the Mavericks need Doncic’s scoring. Part of this is on the coaching staff. They need to make things easier on Doncic, help him get some easier looks off actions from Irving or even Washington. Whatever, the solution, the Mavericks won’t go very far with Doncic performing like this.

4: The number of field goals by Irving

Similarly, the Mavericks need more from Irving. He’s been oddly passive in this series, but it hasn’t mattered much, since the Mavericks were winning. But tonight, he looked completely off and not aggressive at all. He only had four makes from the field and five fouls. Irving only took two 3-pointers, missing them both. As mentioned above with Doncic, Irving can’t have games like this. He did have nine assists, but the pressure he puts on defenses when he’s looking to score changes the dynamic on offense, and the Mavericks need it.

13: The number of blocks by the Mavericks

One positive stat! The Mavericks had 13 blocks as a team. The Dallas bigs were active and mean around the rim. Dereck Lively II and Derrick Jones Jr. had four blocks each. Daniel Gafford had three. Washington and Doncic even got in on the block party with one each. The game result was disappointing, but the defense around the rim was incredible.

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