One look at the league standings and nobody would have expected the Mavericks-Thunder game in Oklahoma City to be as competitive as it turned out.
The 16-34 Thunder took the 29-23 Mavericks to overtime in a game that witnessed 16 lead changes and nine ties.
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Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 40 points along with 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals but it wasn't enough to lead the Mavericks to victory.
Instead, the Thunder came out on top 120-114 behind a huge overtime performance from their wing Luguentz Dort.
The 6-foot-3 Canadian erupted for 14 of the team's 17 points in overtime as he single-handedly outscored the Mavericks by three points in the extra session.
clutch Lu@luthebeast | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/9pTygkVrhj
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 3, 2022
overtime, Lu's time pic.twitter.com/kM6Rc8oVEr
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 3, 2022
Shooting a career-high 85.9 percent from the free-throw line for the season, he went a perfect 6-of-6 in overtime.
"I just felt like I had to step up," Dort on his overtime performance said postgame. "We had a good game, I felt like at the end, someone had to make plays."
Finishing with 30, this is his second 30-point game this season after he had only one through his first two seasons in the NBA. His explosion late was crucial for a Thunder squad that was missing their starting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
This was the Thunder's second consecutive victory, something they hadn't done since Dec. 23.
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