Anderson produced thunderous dunk in loss to the Thunder

TULSA – For Justin Anderson, the numbers were as ugly as anything he’s seen in a long, long time.

In the Dallas Mavericks first two preseason games, Anderson was a combined 2-of-12 from the field with eight points, seven rebounds and no assists in 43 minutes.

It was difficult to tell if the Mavs’ rookie from Virginia was pressing, trying to impress the masses while hopefully wanting to justify why Dallas used a first-round draft pick to acquire his services. Whatever the case, the situation was a complete disaster.

But during Tuesday’s 100-88 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder at Bank Of Oklahoma Center, Anderson made some significant strides. The 6-6 swingman finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist in 24 minutes, and drew high praise form coach Rick Carlisle.

"For me he’s getting better each game,’’ Carlisle said, after his team dropped to 0-3 in preseason. "He’s learned a lot playing against an improved Denver team (in the preseason opener), and then going to Houston, and then playing these guys.

"These guys had all their guys.’’

Anderson has been going through what most rookies encounter. In essence, he’s discovering that the transition from the college to the pro game is no easy task.

"Once again I’m just trying to continue to take strides in the right direction,’’ Anderson said. "Coach is putting us in a position to make the most of the preseason, and I think we’re really starting to touch on something.’’

Anderson definitely touched on something when he barreled down the left side of the lane and dunked over Thunder defensive stalwart Serge Ibaka. The highlight reel play was a sight to see, especially since Ibaka is one of the best in the game at protecting the rim.

"It felt really good,’’ Anderson said of hiss power facial dunk on Ibaka. "I can’t even try to downplay it.

"I saw him coming and I think he thought because I was younger I wasn’t going to go for it, but naw, naw. I thought, yeah, naw.’’

Overall, Anderson was 5-of-13 from the field in his most productive night of the preseason.

"He made a lot of good things happen tonight,’’ Carlisle said. "There are still mistakes, but there’s less and less of them.

"He’s just got to stay aggressive and we just got to keep showing him the things that he’s doing wrong, and he’ll correct them.’’

Anderson hopes to keep making corrections on the court when the Mavs host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"He’s just got to keep playing, he’s got to keep running hard, stepping into shots,’’ Carlisle said. "He’s learned a lot in a short period of time.

"When I was that age I was learning a lot, too. It’s not easy. The fact that he’s getting a lot of minutes here, he’s going to learn more in a short period of time, which he needs to do.’’

Dwain Price can be heard every Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. on dfwiradio.com.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 1:05 AM with the headline "Anderson produced thunderous dunk in loss to the Thunder."