OKLAHOMA CITY — As the final seconds of the first half ticked away, Anthony Davis had a chance to get on the board. Held scoreless up to that point, Davis hauled in Ryan Nembhard’s miss and tried to get a shot off over two Oklahoma City Thunder defenders. Thunder big man Chet Holmgren zoomed into the picture and spiked Davis’ attempt to the ground.
Holmgren’s denial of Davis’ push shot was emblematic of how the Dallas Mavericks fared against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
The Thunder’s No. 1-ranked defense held Davis to two points on 1-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes. Oklahoma City dominated from the second quarter on and blasted Dallas in a 132-111 win at Paycom Center.
The Mavericks’ three-game winning streak came to an end against their I-35 competition.
Meanwhile, the Thunder collected a 14th consecutive win and improved to 22-1 this season. Through 23 games, the Thunder have the best record of any team since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who won their first 24 games en route to an NBA record 73 regular-season wins. The Thunder, whose second-leading scorer from last season, Jalen Williams, has only played in four games, look like a real threat to equal or eclipse that mark — not that it is on their minds at all.
“We have a team that over time has formed a belief that you’re only as good as you are tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Nothing we have done previous to this has helped us tonight.”
There is no championship hangover in Oklahoma City, a team of 20-somethings who barely drink. If anything, the Thunder — and their best player, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — look even sharper than they did a year ago.
Gilgeous-Alexander needed only 12 shots to score 33 points on Friday. He converted 10 of 12 field goals and made 11 of 12 free throws. Both Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall were visibly frustrated in the second quarter when they were whistled for shooting foul calls on the Thunder’s slippery and smooth Canadian scorer.
Gilgeous-Alexander entered Friday’s game shooting 58.9 percent on 2s and 43.4 percent on 3s. He has never played more efficient basketball and continues scoring with metronomic consistency. On Friday, he reached the 20-point mark for the 95th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain.
“He puts the work in,” Daigneault said. “He has great vision of what he wants to improve on. Then he’s just got a lot of experience now. He’s seen a lot of pictures. He has a lot of experiences. A 23-game playoff run was informative for everyone, including him.
“He kind of channels all that into his work, which is ruthlessly consistent and very focused. All he’s ever done is improve. As great of a player as he is, it’s not surprising when he gets even better.”
The Mavericks started Nembhard at point guard for a fifth consecutive game. The undrafted rookie’s strong play continued early on. The Mavericks and Thunder were tied after the first quarter, but Oklahoma City seized control in the second and third quarters, outscoring Dallas 77-47.
Davis missed the first eight shots he attempted. The Thunder used Jaylin Williams as a primary defender on the Mavericks’ 10-time All-Star and let Holmgren lurk inside as a help defender.
“That was their game plan,” Davis said. “That’s most teams’ game plan. When I catch the ball, have guys loaded up. Specifically, when I have it in the post. … And they didn’t have Chet on me. Chet was kind of the help on the baseline.”
Davis didn’t score his first points of the game until the 8:08 mark in the fourth quarter. He subbed out for good less than a minute later with Dallas behind by 24 points.
“They are playing really, really good basketball on both ends of the floor,” Davis said. “You have to play almost perfect basketball as well.”
The Thunder’s path to winning a championship last season wasn’t without nervous moments. The Thunder needed seven games to knock off the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, and they trailed by one point in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at home to the Indiana Pacers before taking control of that game in the second half.
That postseason experience has only left the Thunder hungrier and more confident than they were before.
“Our team has been way more of the same than different,” Daigneault said. “The only difference might be a little more confidence — internal confidence and assuredness. I think the chemistry and continuity help with that. But it feels the same. The same things we’ve emphasized.”
