The Mavericks solved 1 problem against the Thunder, but still have weaknesses that need to be fixed

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks they were defeated by Oklahoma City on Monday night, losing by a final score of 101-94. Dallas finally solved the turnover problem, committing just eight total turnovers in the game. However, a number of other issues still need to be resolved. The defense once again endured ups and downs, a lack of playmaking led to just 20 assists for Dallas, and the team continues to struggle to find the bottom of the net.

“We have a bunch of fighters that will compete until the end,” the head coach Jason Kidd he told reporters after the game. “That game could have taken as much as 22 points away from us. Realizing that we cut the lead down to one and had a chance. We had the ball for three. Group battles.

“We’re just hoping at some point this basket opens up for us and we can make some shots because we’re getting a lot of open threes that we’re not hitting right now.”

The contest was quite competitive in the first half, as the Thunder led 48-42 at halftime. In the third quarter, however, OKC took complete control of the game – extending their lead to 87-69. The Mavs fought back, but ultimately fell short.

A big concern was the Mavs’ inability to connect on their shot attempts. The Mavericks shot just 37.9 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc throughout the game. The lack of assists points to a need to improve playmaking, but it’s also hard to rack up a ton of assists when the shots just aren’t falling on a consistent basis.

Meanwhile, Nick Harrison’s defense continues to fall short of expectations early in the year. That said, given the Thunder’s dynamic offense, Monday’s defensive performance was respectable except for the third quarter. However, this defense has to be better.

Of course, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II was out due to injury didn’t help matters in any way. Their return will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the team.

The result of the competition was disappointing after The Mavericks had an impressive win on Sunday, when they beat the Toronto Raptors 139-129. However, Monday’s game was never going to be an easy win. Still, the Mavs’ fight is undeniable.

“We will continue to fight until the end of the game, even with a bad third quarter,” Anthony Davis he told reporters. “We gave ourselves a chance to win the game … We can’t have those defensive breakdowns, but we’re going to keep fighting until the end and we gave ourselves a chance for the second night of back-to-back games.”

The Mavericks will look to bounce back on Wednesday night in Dallas against the Indiana Pacers. Wednesday’s contest will mark the Mavs’ final home contest of their current five-game homestand.