Third quarter doomed Mavs in 109-106 loss to OKC

DALLAS – A lot of stuff was going well Friday night for the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs built a 23-12 lead early in the first quarter against Oklahoma City, and actually led 56-48 at the half.

Then the second half started.

Then the Mavs got buried under an avalanche of terrific shot-making by the Thunder. And got buried under their own shooting miseries from the field.

In all, Oklahoma City outscored the Mavs in the third quarter, 37-18.

Shooting guard Wesley Matthews described the Mavs’ miseries in the third quarter as "a combination of everything.’’ One of those theories where if everything could go wrong, it did for the Mavs in a horrible third quarter of their 109-106 loss to the Thunder.

In analyzing the third quarter, Matthews said it was: "Plays on defense, the kind of shots we got on the offensive end, and whether they go in, turnovers. I credit them.

"Obviously, they are an elite team for a reason. They are a great third-quarter team.’’

In the third quarter Friday, OKC was 16-of-26 from the field for 61.5 percent and held the Mavs to 6-of-20 shooting for 30 percent. The Thunder also outrebounded the Mavs in the third quarter by a whopping 16-5 margin.

"The third quarter was a debacle,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said. "That was very poorly played by us and really well-played by them.’’

The Mavs almost participated in their fifth straight home overtime game. But Chandler Parsons’ 3-pointer at the buzzer barely missed its mark, dropping Dallas to 25-20 overall and 6-7 since the beginning of 2016.

Still, the Mavs received a jolt from third-string center Salah Mejri. The rookie from Tunisia only played the game’s final 7:59 and entered the contest with the Mavs down 95-80 -- and seemingly out.

But Mejri provided a spark with two massive blocks – one near the rim on All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, and one at the rim on All-Star forward Kevin Durant.

"I tried to do what I do best, pick-and-roll and try to protect the rim,’’ Mejri said. "I had two big blocks shots, so I think that gave energy for my teammates and gave energy to the fans.

"I’m doing my job. I’m not trying to do something like super crazy. I already have confidence in myself, I believe in myself, I believe I can do things.’’

The Mavs were obviously impressed with what Mejri was able to accomplish. Especially since he was in Frisco on Thursday night playing in a D-League game with the Texas Legends.

"His rolls, he got layups, got fouled and another layup,’’ Matthews said. "His defense, he’s active and got a big blocked shot on KD going up to the rim.

"A lot of activity for us, and that really brought us back.’’

In last week’s loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City, Mejri collected 17 points and nine rebounds. When given the opportunity Friday, he more or less picked up where he left off last week.

"He’s a different kind of guy and he did good things,’’ Carlisle said of the rookie from 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.’’

Mejri played behind starting center Zaza Pachulia and backup center JaVale McGee. Pachulia finished with four points, eight rebounds and five assists, and McGee contributed 11 points and four rebounds and was 5-of-6 from the field in only 14 minutes.

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

Any semblance of meaningful minutes would be fine with Mejri.

"The coach talked to me today and he said you played against this team twice and you had a good game, so be ready tonight,’’ Mejri said. "I didn’t know when he was going to put me in the game.’’

Mejri only wishes he could have gotten in the game earlier. Maybe he could have helped stop some of that damage the Thunder did to the Mavs in the third quarter.　

Dwain Price can be heard every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m. on dfwiradio.com

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Third quarter doomed Mavs in 109-106 loss to OKC."