Date: New Year's EveTip-Off Time: 7 p.m. CTTelevision: Fox Sports OklahomaRadio: 98.1 FM WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
Thunder Status For the third consecutive season, the Thunder will tip-off against Dallas in a New Year’s Eve battle in Chesapeake Arena on Tuesday. After sweeping a two-game road swing in Dallas, the Thunder enter into Tuesday’s game riding a sizeable wave of momentum. The Thunder faced Charlotte on Friday where it inched out a victory in overtime behind a 24-point performance from Dennis Schröder and a binding defensive performance from the Thunder bench. In its last game against Toronto, it was Ontario native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who secured the victory with a go-ahead floater off the glass to give the Thunder a one-point lead with only seconds remaining and tying his career-high with 32 points.
Opponent Breakdown The Mavericks enter into Chesapeake Energy Area on Tuesday after dropping a game to the Lakers on Sunday in its lowest scoring game of the season. Dallas, headlined by Luka Dončić and Kristaps Porzingis rank third in the league in points averaging 117 per contest. Dončić alone averages 28.8 points per contest, good for third in the league. Rounding out the roster is center, Dwight Powell in the paint and Dorian Finney-Smith on the perimeter who knocked down 3-5 from behind the arc on Sunday.
Dallas’s high-scoring production stems from its ability to shoot at a high clip from behind the arc. Shooting a collective 36.7 percent from deep as team, all five Dallas starters shoot at above 30 percent. The Thunder will look to implore its tenacious 3-point defense at every position to limit looks from behind the arc. In fact, OKC has held its opponents to the second-fewest 3-point attempts per game in the league this season.
Matchup Focus
Tuesday’s battle will feature a pair of the NBA’s standout sophomore guards. For Dallas, its Dončić who takes the forefront as a triple-double engine. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year controls the NBA record for the most triple-doubles by a player before his 21st birthday with 17 over his short career. This season, Dončić has notched nine triple-doubles good for the most in the league this season.
On the other side of the floor, Gilgeous-Alexander had found his rhythm offensively as of late. His 32-point performance on Sunday lifted his averages to 27.3 points and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 53 percent from the field and 45 percent from the 3-point line over his last six games.
Stat to Watch The Mavericks have the numbers edge on the glass. With 48 boards per game, they rank third in the league in rebounds per game led by Dončić and Porzingis who chip in nine a piece. Consequently, they sit at second in the league in second chance points per game. Rebounding for the Thunder always takes precedent, but on Tuesday finding a man and boxing him out will take top priority to limit easy points for Dallas.
Thunder Trend With its win on Sunday, the Thunder has won six out of its last seven games and 11 out of its last 15. With these wins, the Thunder now sits at 7th in the Western Conference while notching two games above .500.