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Oklahoma City Thunder veteran point guard Chris Paul turned back the clock on Tuesday, as he lifted his side to a tightly-contested victory against the Dallas Mavericks. The 34-year-old struggled through the first three quarters against the Mavs, but seemed to have turned on a switch to score 13 points in the crucial fourth period.
Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle had nothing but good things to say about the veteran Thunder talent, admitting that his team failed to prevent something that they already knew coming in.
“This has been his pattern,” coach Rick Carlisle said, via Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “At the end of games he becomes the focal point. He did it against Toronto (on Sunday) and he did it tonight.
“He’s a great player — he made a bunch of shots. We didn’t defend him well enough, and we had chances at the other end.”
Paul finished the game with 17 points (7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-2 from the stripe), eight rebounds, seven assists, and a steal in 36 minutes of action. He also got a lot of help from the likes of Danilo Gallinari (20 points, three 3-pointers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (19 points, 10 rebounds), and Dennis Schroder (20 points, seven rebounds).
As for Carlisle and the Mavs, they came into the contest without Kristaps Porzingis (knee) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring). Second-year stud Luka Doncic was dominant yet again, accounting for a game-high 35 points (12-of-29 from the field, 8-of-12 from the line), three 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and a steal in 40 minutes of play.
This win makes it three straight for the Thunder, who are slowly working their way up in a ruthless Western Conference. They are currently 18-15, and are sitting at the seventh spot in the conference. Time will tell if they can continue to climb up the playoff ladder.
