Thunder beat Mavs 116-108 as Doncic, Porzingis rest

<p>OKLAHOMA CITY &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held on for a 116-108 victory Thursday night against a Dallas Mavericks team that rested Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.</p>
<p>The Thunder made five of their first six 3-point attempts and built a 35-19 advantage after one quarter, then held off a late Dallas rally.</p>
<p>Dallas cut the deficit to 103-101 with just under 2 minutes remaining but Gilgeous-Alexander scored on back-to-back possessions and made six consecutive free throws in the closing minutes.</p>
<p>Oklahoma City outrebounded Dallas 21-5 in the first period and finished the half making 10 of its 14 3-point attempts (71%). The Thunder cooled off from there but still finished 16 of 32 behind the arc.</p>
<p>Josh Richardson scored 27 points for the Mavericks. He scored to cut the deficit to 67-59 early in the third, but Al Horford responded with a three from the top of the key and a traditional three-point play on consecutive possessions. </p>
<p>Horford added 21 points and was 4 for 5 on 3-point attempts.</p>
<p>Jalen Brunson scored 26 and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 24 for the Mavericks, who fell to 19-17.</p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Mavericks: The loss drops them to 2-5 on the second night of a back-to-back. … Richardson grew up in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond.</p>
<p>Thunder: First-round pick Aleksej Pokusevski made his first career start. … Guard Hamidou Diallo missed his fifth consecutive game with a groin injury.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Mavericks: Visit Denver for the third and final meeting this season. </p>
<p>Thunder: Host the New York Knicks on Saturday. </p>