Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 10th 2024

Preview and Prediction

Luka Doncic, the star player of the Dallas Mavericks, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the standout of the Oklahoma City Thunder, are two of the most talented players in the NBA. They both ranked in the top three for Most Valuable Player last season, with Gilgeous-Alexander coming in second and Doncic in third.

This Tuesday, the Mavericks and the Thunder will face off in the first round of the NBA Cup's knockout stage.

This game is a rematch of their second-round playoff series from last season, which the Mavericks won 4-2.

Doncic has been on fire since returning from a right wrist sprain that kept him out for five games in late November. In the four games since his return, he has averaged an impressive 31.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game.

Doncic is coming into Tuesday's game with two consecutive triple-doubles under his belt.

During Saturday's victory against the Toronto Raptors, Doncic scored 30 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden to move into seventh place on the NBA's all-time triple-double list with 79.

Jason Kidd, the coach of the Dallas Mavericks, praised Doncic's skill set, saying, "When you talk about his skill set, filling up the stat sheet, he's had two here, he can run them off. We always expect him to have a triple-double, or we sometimes take him for granted for triple-doubles. I think right now you can see that he's starting to get into a groove."

In last season's playoff matchup, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged an impressive 32.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. Doncic also had a strong showing, averaging 24.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.7 assists, with a triple-double in each of the final three games of the series.

Gilgeous-Alexander has been on fire lately, scoring at least 30 points in six of his last seven games.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won seven of their last eight games, including three consecutive wins, while the Dallas Mavericks enter the game as the hottest team in the NBA with seven straight victories.

This Tuesday's game, which will also count towards the regular-season standings, will be the second meeting between these two teams this season.

Doncic was unable to play in the Mavericks' 121-119 win on November 17th in Oklahoma City due to a bruised right knee. In that game, P.J. Washington had a career-high 27 points and 17 rebounds for Dallas.

The series between these two teams has been consistently close, with six of their last nine regular-season meetings being decided by single digits.

The first meeting of the season was one of the Thunder's last without Isaiah Hartenstein, a 7-footer who missed the first 15 games of the season due to a hand fracture.

Since his return, Hartenstein has helped the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust to the loss of Chet Holmgren. He is averaging 11.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, which is a significant improvement from his previous six NBA seasons where he never averaged more than 2.5 assists per game.

Alex Caruso, Hartenstein's teammate, praised his passing abilities, saying, "He's a phenomenal passer. People don't talk about him as a passer as a big in the league. Obviously, Denver's Nikola Jokic is in a category of his own. That's a different guy."

For the Mavericks, P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall are questionable for Tuesday's game due to illnesses, while Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Maxi Kleber (illness) will not be playing.

Out of the four players, Washington was the only one who played in Saturday's win against the Toronto Raptors.

PREDICTION

Dallas Mavericks

113

117

Oklahoma City Thunder

Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Recap DEC 10TH 2024