Thunder outlasts Mavericks as Chandler Parsons misses at buzzer

At the end of a wild Friday night at American Airlines Center, the Dallas Mavericks’ poor effort in the third quarter cost them the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

OKC showed its athleticism when it outscored the Mavs by a whopping 37-18 margin in the third quarter. That was more than enough for the Thunder to hold on for a 109-106 triumph over the Mavs before a raucous sellout crowd of 20,284.

Chandler Parsons misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer on a shot that would have sent the Mavs to their fifth straight home overtime game. Instead, the Mavs dropped to 6-7 since the beginning of the year and 25-20 overall while finishing the homestand with a 2-1 record.

“The third quarter was a debacle,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It was very poorly played by us and really well-played by them, and that doomed us.”

It doomed the Mavs so much that not even Salah Mejri could save them. Although he nearly did.

Last week in Oklahoma City, Mejri had 17 points, nine rebounds and four dunks against OKC, including a thunderous one in the face of shot-blocker extraordinaire Serge Ibaka. But Mejri only played the game’s final 7:59 on Friday and didn’t surface until the Mavs were behind 95-80.

However, the energy Merji brought to the court netted him five points, a block near the rim on Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook and a block at the rim on Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant. The blocks brought huge ovations from the crowd.

“He’s a different kind of guy and he did good things,” Carlisle said of the rookie form Tunisia. “He’s worked hard, he played a D-League game [in Frisco on Thursday night.]

“He’s played several D-League games, which has helped him, and so when his number was called he was ready. The same way he was last week.”

Will Carlisle start calling Mejri’s number more often?

“It’s certainly possible,” he said. “Look, I don’t hesitate to call anybody’s number on our roster.”

And why did Carlisle make the change to Mejri? He said: “I made the change because we were getting our [butt] kicked six ways to Sunday with the group that was in there.”

Dirk Nowitzki had his number called and was back in the starting lineup after he missed Wednesday’s victory over Minnesota with a right knee effusion. Nowitzki played 29 minutes and finished with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting.

“I thought he looked good,” Carlisle said. “We’re going to monitor his situation closely, but so far the indications are positive that he’s doing good.”

Durant scored half of his 24 points in the third quarter, and Ibaka scored 10 of his 14 in the third quarter when the Thunder had the Mavs going in circles.

The Mavs were ahead 56-48 at intermission thanks to 13 points from Deron Williams, 11 from Parsons and 10 from Nowitzki. But their gas tank appeared completely empty until Mejri came off the bench and provided a much-needed spark.

“He’s one guy that’s kind of been the odd-man out because of our depth at the center position,” Carlisle said. “In these two games in the last week, he’s making a case that he deserves some minutes.”

Mejri’s block on Durant led to a 3-point bucket by Williams, which helped the Mavs inch to within 107-106 of OKC with 1:06 left. However, Durant tossed in a 19-footer with 54.8 seconds for the final margin.

Still, the Mavs had chances to force overtime. Nowitzki, however, missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key with 4.9 seconds left, and Parsons missed his in the left corner at the buzzer.

Parsons finished with 26 points, Williams had 22 points, Wesley Matthews scored 13 and JaVale McGee 11.

OKC is now 33-12 and has won seven games in a row.

“Obviously they are an elite team for a reason,” Matthews said. “They are a great third-quarter team. We may have come out a bit sluggish. It was a game that we needed and should have had.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Thunder outlasts Mavericks as Chandler Parsons misses at buzzer."