Kyrie Irving scored 25 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 106-98 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
The Mavericks have lost three games in a row, while the Thunder lost for the second time in their last 21 games.
Oklahoma City, which entered the game on a four-game winning streak, including a 20-point victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, was without star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the first time this season.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed the game with a sprained right wrist.
The Mavericks led by as many as 20 at halftime, but could not make it through.
The Thunder roared back to take the lead in the third quarter, and trailed by one with 4 1/2 minutes left.
Dallas’ Naji Marshall was fouled on the drive and completed a three-point play that sparked a 14-4 run that put the game away.
Spencer Dinwiddie hit a 3-pointer in that closing stretch to help the Mavericks hang on.
Playing with a lineup without Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City trailed 63-43 at halftime after being outscored 41-17 in the second quarter.
Dallas scored 16 points off eight Thunder turnovers in the second while shooting 13 of 18 from the floor (including 7 of 10 from 3-point range) in the period.
However, the Thunder roared back, holding the Mavericks without a field goal for nearly seven minutes to start the third quarter.
Dallas missed its first nine shots of the second half before Irving made a layup to cap a 22-2 Oklahoma City run.
The Thunder kept coming, leading by two after the third.
Marshall helped the Mavericks, scoring nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Dallas pull away.
Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City with 19 points but shot 7 of 22 from the floor, while Luguentz Dort added 18.
Dallas finished with 29 points off the Thunder’s 15 turnovers while Oklahoma City had just 17 of the Mavericks’ 17 turnovers.
–Field Level Media