Mavs exploded offensively in 135-131 win over OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY – If the Dallas Mavericks can score points the way they scored points Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, maybe they will be able to do some serious damage once the playoffs roll around.

With seven players scoring 10 or more points, the Mavs sprinted their way to a high-scoring 135-131 triumph over the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The only game where the Mavs scored more points this season occurred during a 140-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers way back on Nov. 21. The scoring drought, from the Mavs’ perspective, was long overdue.

"I think we moved the ball well, we played with a high octane offense, we shot the ball well, we played aggressive,’’ said backup center Amar’e Stoudemire, who scored 18 points against the Thunder. "If we continue to play that way we can score a lot of points.’’

Monta Ellis led the Mavs with 26 points in his return after missing one game with an injured right leg. Ellis, who also had five assists, converted 9-of-14 shots and didn’t appear to favor the injured leg.

Meanwhile, Chandler Parsons kept slithering to the basket time and time again and wound up tallying 13 of his 22 points in the frantic fourth quarter.

"We survived and there were a lot of times where we could gave folded up, but everybody held the line,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our bench was into it, and we had balance.

"Ellis and Parsons gave us a great one-two punch throughout the game, and then Parsons made some huge plays down the stretch to help get the lead back. And you know, it’s a great win for us.’’

The Mavs were so efficient offensively that they shot 61.5 percent from the field, turned the ball over just six times and outscored the tough-minded Thunder in the paint, 72-46.

"I don’t remember scoring 72 points in the paint in a long, long time, if ever, since I’ve been here,’’ said Dirk Nowitzki, who tallied 18 points and became the seventh player in NBA history to score at least 28,000 career points. "Guys were attacking on the break, they had some guys closing out and we drove right by back and got in the lane.’’

"I thought everybody was attacking, which was great.’’

The Mavs were in such a groove at the offensive end that the only quarter they didn’t score at least 30 points was the first quarter. And they scored 28 in that one.

Dallas led 66-63 at intermission, and the game was tied at 101 – at the end of the third quarter. By contrast, the Mavs didn’t score but 99 points during this past Sunday’s five-point loss to the Indiana Pacers.

"In the first half we had great pace, we were getting rebounds, we were getting out in transition,’’ Parsons said. "Even though we didn’t hit every shot we were still getting great looks and we were getting great looks early.

"That’s what we’ve got to continue to do with our personnel. We’re not meant to play slow or grind it inside. We’ve got to get up and down, and that really sets the tone.’’

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Mavs exploded offensively in 135-131 win over OKC."