At 6:58 of the first quarter, Kyrie Irving’s 3-pointer put Dallas ahead 13-11. With 10 seconds left in the period, he struck again from deep for a 33-28 lead. Oklahoma City had spent the opening minutes answering Dallas possession for possession; Irving’s shooting gave the Mavericks a little breathing room before the game became a procession of different contributors.
Dallas defeated the Thunder 120-96 at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, winning all four quarters and turning a 65-59 halftime lead into a 94-81 advantage after three. Irving supplied the early scoring, then helped teammates add to the lead with his passes.
His final line was 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including 3-for-8 from 3-point range. He also had four assists, two steals and two blocks, with one turnover in 26:58. The scoring number does not describe the shape of his night as well as the sequence does.
His first-quarter threes helped Dallas navigate an even opening; his later passing helped prevent the offense from becoming dependent on him repeating the same act.
The first Irving-to-Christie connection arrived with 8:07 left in the second quarter. Irving assisted Max Christie on a 3 that moved Dallas ahead 46-36, its largest lead to that point. Christie made another 3 from Irving at 9:25 of the third, extending the margin to 70-61 after Oklahoma City had gone to halftime within reach.
Christie finished with 11 points and three made threes, but those two baskets also marked a change in responsibility. Irving was still involved without needing to claim the shot himself.
Dallas had enough passing and finishing elsewhere to make that change possible. Marcus Sasser scored eight points in the second quarter, including a cutting layup at 6:52, a running pullup 3 at 5:02 and a 15-foot pullup at 4:10. The sequence kept the Mavericks moving during the competitive portion of the game, when Oklahoma City could still punish a stagnant possession.
Sasser finished with 10 points and four assists, giving Dallas another ball-handler who could turn a pass into immediate offense.
The Mavericks’ creation was spread widely enough that even a scoreless night from Walter Clayton Jr. did not stop the flow. Clayton had five assists without a turnover. Cooper Flagg added eight assists without a turnover and scored 26 points, while Dallas finished with 30 assists against nine turnovers.
Those numbers do not make every successful possession Irving’s doing. They explain why his early shot-making could remain valuable after his own scoring cooled.
Caleb Martin became one of the later beneficiaries. At 7:31 of the fourth quarter, Irving found him for a 3 that made the score 108-89. Martin finished with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting and two made threes.
