Game Prediction: Mavericks vs Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Dallas Mavericks in a game two showdown on Thursday night from the Paycom Center. The Thunder dominated at home in game one, winning by 22 points and setting the tone early in this series. For the Thunder, it’s their third-straight win against Dallas this season, as they’ve taken four of five between these two teams overall. This has the makings of a series that could still go either way, especially with it shifting to Dallas for game three, making this game two matchup pivotal. With fewer and fewer games on per night, this is one that fans will certainly want to tune in for.

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Dallas Eyeing Bounce Back
Dallas is no stranger to losses to kick off a series, as they went down 0-1 on the road in the first round, only to battle their way back to a series win in six games. Doing that against the Thunder might be a challenge though, especially considering how strong OKC has been at home this season. Dallas has their own success on the road, winning 27 games both away and at home, which should give them some confidence ti turn the page on game one. Tuesday night’s loss snapped a run of four wins in five games for Dallas, who finished the season as one of the league’s hottest teams over the last month. With a trip to Texas on the horizon, a win in this one could certainly change the tides of this series.
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Even though the wins have been coming, injuries have continued to be an issue for this team. Luka Doncic is the most notable name, as he continues to be listed as probable, as it would be a shock if he didn’t go. Maxi Kleber has been ruled out though, cutting into a frontcourt that was already thin on bodies in this series.

Dallas’ success over the final stretch of the regular-season came with one of the best three-point shooting runs in the league. In game one, they only shot 34 percent from three-point range, which is a number that they’ll need to improve on to grab the game two road. Doncic and Kyrie Irving dominated the Clippers in the first round and will need to find that again against an Oklahoma City backcourt that can struggle defensively at times. The frontcourt is a major concern as well for Dallas but if they can find their shooting touch, that could be enough to even this series.

Thunder Putting Home Success To The Test
After a regular-season during which the Thunder were able to hold strong and continue to pile up wins, the playoffs have been much of the same. They dominated the Pelicans in the opening round and it didn’t take long for them to make quick work of Dallas in game one. With three-straight wins over Dallas dating back to the regular-season, confidence has to be high for this group. They have a 36-8 record at the Paycom Center and with the series on its way south after this one, a 2-0 series lead would be massive. Despite their inexperience, the Thunder keep proving people wrong, as they look to continue that mindset into Thursday night.
One key aspect of Oklahoma City’s success this season has been their ability to stay healthy. They, yet again, have no players listed on the injury report and expect to have a full complement of players. The consistency in their rotation has obviously paid dividends this season, as that is likely to be a major advantage in game two and beyond.

The Thunder are one of the most efficient teams on both ends and they showed their defensive prowess in game one. In slowing down Dallas’ three-point shooting, they were able to control the momentum. It doesn’t hurt that on their own offensive end of things, they have a massive advantage in the frontcourt with Chet Holmgren. Adding in their own offense that ranks first in three-point percentage and they have the strategy on both ends to continue to find success against Dallas.

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