Matthews wants Mavs playing 48 minutes

Wesley Matthews rehashed two of the losses the Dallas Mavericks incurred against the Oklahoma City Thunder this season and came to a well thought-out conclusion.

“We should have probably beaten this team a couple of times,’’ the Mavs’ shooting guard said after Wednesday morning’s shootaround at American Airlines Center. “Credit to them for continuing to play hard, and obviously the talent that they have on their side of the ball.

“But we just have to put together a 48-minute game.’’

The Thunder clipped the Mavs, 117-114, in Oklahoma City on Nov. 22. And they edged the Mavs in Dallas, 109-106, on Jan. 22.

Oklahoma City also defeated Dallas, 108-89, at home on Jan. 13, in a game where the Mavs — ecause they were on a back-to-back — rested their entire starting lineup. Thus, the Mavs will try to avoid getting swept 4-0 by the Thunder when the two teams collide at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at AAC.

Matthews, though, is less concerned about a sweep and more concerned about the Mavs picking up where they left off on Sunday when they hammered the Philadelphia 76ers, 129-103.

“Forget a sweep,’’ Matthews said. “We need every game that we play.

“This (playoff) race is entirely too tight, and we really only have ourselves to blame for that. Yeah, if they beat us 16 times in a row, pride is, yeah, but we need every game.’’

The Mavs are 30-27 and in sixth place in the Western Conference standings. That’s the same record as Portland.

Sunday’s game against the Sixers was the first of a six-game home stand for the Mavs. But is there really a true advantage playing at home, where the Mavs are 16-11?

“Not at all, other than we sleep in our bed, but that’s about it,’’ Matthews said. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given night in this league.

“We can’t rely on that fact that we’re playing at home. We need to continue to play with an edge and play like we’re on the road and put together 48 minutes.’’

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Matthews wants Mavs playing 48 minutes."