The Dallas Mavericks got the upper hand on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second time this season, though it was undermanned.

The Dallas Mavericks bounced back from a three-game losing streak, including a controversial loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. OKC entered the game tied for the NBA's best record and had just beaten the other team with the top record by 20 points.

Even without important pieces like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Dereck Lively II, both teams' role players simmered the beef between the ball clubs. The usually well-mannered Thunder were hit with multiple technical fouls. PJ Washington continued to poke the bear.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a 106-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The rare defeat had plenty of caveats for both sides. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a late scratch with a wrist sprain. He joined Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in street clothes. Dallas was without Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II.

That decision forced the Thunder to stick close to the Mavericks' role players throughout the first quarter. Once Washington scored the first five points, Irving asserted himself and drained a 3-pointer before finishing at the basket with a finger roll to give the Mavericks an early 10-0 lead.

In the first quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder ’s 106-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, Lu Dort received a technical foul for flopping before he was hit with an unsportsmanlike technical foul in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the Nets (14-28) have committed to losing. They've lost seven of their last eight games. They had a heartbreaker in a one-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Austin Reaves scored a career-high 38 points.

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The Nets come into this game following a 102-101 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday in which Brooklyn nearly pulled off an upset win over a Lakers team missing Anthony Davis. Nets guard D'Angelo Russell had 19 points and eight assists in his first game against his former Los Angeles team and he had a chance to win the game at the final buzzer to give himself the kind of revenge game that players dream of.

Nets team, saying the Mavericks didn’t just win the swap that brought him to Dallas, but got the best deal in the NBA.