DALLAS — Crossing over Max Christie, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went up in the air for a rare one-handed dunk. He flexed his muscles in stone-cold celebration as Dallas called a timeout. The reigning MVP felt himself in a game they controlled throughout the night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder eventually woke up to make easy work of the Dallas Mavericks in a 100-87 win.
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After falling behind 7-2 to start, the Thunder finally quit messing around. They dissected the Mavericks’ defense filled with folks learning to play with each other. Isaiah Hartenstein connected with Chet Holmgren on a bounce-pass for an easy layup. At one point, they rattled off a dozen straight points.
Holmgren had a hot start with double-digit points in the opening frame. The Thunder had a 36-25 lead after the first quarter. Momentum continued for OKC in the second frame. Gilgeous-Alexander threw down a rare one-handed dunk to get the Dallas crowd excited. That pushed its lead to 49-35 with a little over five minutes left in the half.
The Thunder scored 22 points in the second frame. They entered halftime with a 58-49 lead. Although it felt like a lot more — mostly because Dallas made scoring the basketball feel like pulling teeth. Nobody on their side could get their own bucket. Against the league-best defense, that’s a bad formula.
The second half was much of the same story. Gilgeous-Alexander stole the ball and went all the way for the layup on the other end. The Thunder held a 66-55 lead with over seven minutes left. The only reason why it wasn’t a larger gap is because of an ice-cold outside shooting night.
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Eventually, the Thunder had 25 points in the third quarter. They had an 83-69 lead. To start the final frame, OKC’s second unit put this one away. Isaiah Joe went on a scoring run. He drilled a stepback 3-pointer to make it a 93-71 game with nine minutes left.
That put this one away. The Thunder led by as many as 22 points. Gilgeous-Alexander got some bench lineup reps as he tries to return to the flow of things. They scored 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Dallas crowd slowly dispersed and all that was left were the local OKC fans.
The Thunder shot 45% from the field and went 8-of-39 (20.5%) from 3. They shot 10-of-15 on free throws. They had 22 assists on 41 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 30 points and five assists. Holmgren had 19 points and nine rebounds. Joe tallied 14 points and five rebounds. Jared McCain had 11 points.
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Meanwhile, the Mavericks shot 39% from the field and went 9-of-31 (29%) from 3. They shot 12-of-16 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 33 baskets. Three Mavericks players scored double-digit points.
Caleb Martin finished with 18 points and three rebounds. Max Christie had 14 points and seven rebounds. Brandon Williams tallied 14 points and three rebounds.
Pretty standard win for the Thunder. Both teams are on opposite sides of the NBA highway. The reigning NBA champions are hoping to build some momentum with a mostly-healthy group. Meanwhile, the Mavericks got a bunch of misfit toys together in a season they hope to land another high lottery pick.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus
Mar 1, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Seeing Klay Thompson hesitate for a second, Gilgeous-Alexander went with the stepback 3-pointer. He swished in the outside jumper as the Thunder pushed their lead to double-digit points. The reigning MVP was easily the best player on the floor as the opposition is tanking.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 5-of-6 on free throws. He also had four steals.
Sharpening his jumper, Gilgeous-Alexander went with that for most of the night. He hadn’t relied on it in a while due to the injury. So against a depleted Mavericks team was the best way to get some reps in. He was busy in the mid-range. Nobody from Dallas could slow him down from pulling up in that range.
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Gilgeous-Alexander also went to the cup. He had 19 points in the middle quarters. The Thunder were able to lead by double-digit points for most of the night because of his timely buckets when their offense dried up. Usually Dallas’ top rival, even the opposition crowd, had to give him his MVP chants.
Getting used to a new second unit, Gilgeous-Alexander played some feel-out minutes in the fourth quarter. The low-leverage situation helped him learn to play with new combinations. It also helped him get some more miles on his legs after being out for three weeks.
Easy work for Gilgeous-Alexander. No real high-stress minutes were played in this one. This game was over as soon as the injury reports were submitted. OKC had the chance to pad its lead for the West’s first seed. All you could really ask for from this one.
Chet Holmgren: A
Mar 1, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) dunks the ball past Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell (7) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Going with the pump-fake, Holmgren had Dwight Powell slip on the ground. The seven-footer slithered his way through Dallas’ interior to get the driving layup. The NBA All-Star had it easy facing off the make-shift Mavericks sans an injury scare.
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Holmgren finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-5 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had two blocks and two steals.
One of the best play-finishers, Holmgren had a busy night around the rim. He received plenty of easy looks as Dallas’ defense broke down every other possession. He had 10 points in the first quarter as the Thunder got up big pretty easily.
Getting run into by Khris Middleton in the open court, Holmgren dodged a bullet. He pounded the floor in frustration but quickly walked to the bench. He avoided anything serious as he played the rest of the game. Disaster avoided. That’s the last thing you want to see happen as the Thunder are almost healthy.
The Mavericks made it too easy for Holmgren on defense. A bunch of role players won’t strike any fear in the heart of one of the best rim protectors — no offense. He destroyed Dallas’s offensive flow. Nobody had any idea what to do when the ball reached their hands.
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Really good game for Holmgren. Low maintenance, too. The Mavericks are one of the best get-right teams in the league right now. While the seven-footer didn’t need the pick-me-up, he certainly won’t say no to it. Once again, he was one of the best players on both sides of the floor.
Isaiah Joe: B
Jamming the brakes, Joe had AJ Johnson feet away from him. He went with the turnaround move before he spun into his shooting motion. He swished the daring outside jumper to push OKC’s lead to past 20 points. Talk about a heat-check.
Joe finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and five rebounds. He shot 3-of-7 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws.
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Another double-digit scoring game for Joe. Those are becoming the norm. He scored eight points in the final frame to put this game away before Gilgeous-Alexander checked in. The mic’d-up rims were loud in front of a sparse Dallas crowd as he buried outside jumpers.
The Thunder desperately needed his buckets to even cross the century mark. Approaching a month, Joe has been on a heater. Playing alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, his looks will get even more open. Makes for some fun offensive-slanted lineup hypotheticals.
Jared McCain: B-minus
DALLAS, TEXAS – MARCH 01: Jared McCain #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder makes a move with the ball past Ryan Nembhard #9 of the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter at American Airlines Center on March 01, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Gaining more confidence, McCain has begun to hunt his shot within OKC’s offense. Scary sight to see as the Thunder add another premium shooter pennies on the dollar. He’s turned into a double-digit scoring threat. Even with Gilgeous-Alexander’s return.
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McCain finished with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, one rebound and one assist. He shot 1-of-5 from 3.
It was a jumper-happy night for McCain. He scored nine points in the second quarter as the Thunder kept their distance on the scoreboard. He made a few at the elbow and a baseline jumper. The best part was that the 22-year-old started to demand the ball after a while.
All things considered, it’s been an excellent start for McCain’s time in OKC. He’s given them an extra bucket-getter. Something the Thunder have lacked over the years. The Mavericks were the perfect opponent for him to be more aggressive. Let’s see if he can continue this momentum as he pencils his name into rotation minutes.
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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder cruise to 100-87 win over Mavericks