5 Peaks and 5 pits from the Dallas Mavericks' season thus far

3. Peak: 30-0 run against OKC

Even though Dallas ended up losing the game 126-120, we would be doing a disservice to this list if we didn't include the Mavericks franchise record 30-0 fourth-quarter run in their December 2 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas was down 87-111 before galvanizing some stops which translated into open 3-pointers.

After a few three-pointers went in, the 5-man group on the court of Seth Curry, A.J. Lawson, Luka Doncic, Olivier Maxence-Prosper, and Dereck Lively II played possibly the most spirited defense that the Mavericks have played in a given stretch all season. The Mavericks were scrambling on defense frantically after passes and made a huge point of emphasis to show at least two defenders at the beginning of every defensive possession on Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Dallas may not have gotten the result they wanted in the end, but they showed insane effort across the board for it being the second night of back-to-back where Kyrie Irving wasn't playing. Dereck Lively II showed his dynamism as a potential cog in the short roll, as he attacked Chet Holmgren head-up for multiple strong finishes at the rim. Lively II had a career game with a monstrous 20 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks, but still took a humble approach after the loss.

"That's just the way the game is, you know. Basketball is a game of runs. We were fortunate enough to be able to fight back, bring it back to a close game, but we've just got to be able to make sure that we practice more on just trying to close out the end-game situations"

- Dereck Lively II

Luka Doncic finished with a flat-out absurd triple-double of 36 points, 18 assists, and 15 rebounds, but the superstar's defensive effort down the stretch is what stuck out. Doncic was playing as dialed and fast on both sides of the ball during that fourth quarter as we've seen from him all year, and his energy was matched by role players Seth Curry and A.J. Lawson, who both chipped in 12 points and played great defense for Dallas down the stretch. Derrick Jones Jr. had 24 points on 6-12 shooting from distance as well, as he continues to prove that he can be a starting-caliber wing for Dallas.

The 30-0 run showed how bought in each player is on this Mavericks team, as concerns over specific roles that certain players may have had last season, seem to be a complete afterthought for this Mavericks team.