Dallas Mavericks share the Defensive Player of the Game belt vs. Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks had won eight of their last ten games entering Wednesday night’s contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They had found their pace as Luka Doncic was pushing his way back into the MVP race. The Mavs wanted to head into the All-Star break strong with a win over the Thunder.

They had to play without their superstar on March 3. Doncic missed only his second game of the season with a back injury. Coach Rick Carlisle was optimistic Luka would play in the All-Star game on Sunday night, so it appears to be a minor ailment.

The Mavericks produced one of their best defensive efforts of the season on March 3 as they dominated the Thunder. The gap was wider than the 87-78 score suggests. Dallas held Oklahoma City to fewer than 20 points in three of the four quarters on Wednesday night, so the Mavs decided to do something special with the belt.

Dallas Mavericks share Defensive Player of the Game belt vs. Thunder

Coach Rick Carlisle could not pick just one defensive standout on March 3. Every player stepped up against the Thunder as the Mavs forced them to shoot 33.3 percent from the field. Oklahoma City was just nine of 39 3-point range as they scored a season-low 78 points on Wednesday night.

The Mavericks shared the Defensive Player of the Game belt after the outstanding performance. See the picture courtesy of the team’s Twitter.

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1367326077304123392

The Dallas Mavericks are red hot entering the All-Star break. Luka Doncic has worked his way back into the MVP conversation as his team continues to climb the standings. No team is looking forward to facing the Mavs right now. Dallas will play their best basketball in the second half of the season. Fans will not want to miss a second of the exhilarating action, so please stay tuned.