The Dallas Mavericks lost their second consecutive game on Saturday night, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 126-120, but there were still some positives to take into their three-day break in the action.
Despite the loss, the Mavs showed an immense amount of fight in the fourth quarter, as they went on an explosive, NBA record-breaking 30-0 run to not just cut into OKC’s lead, but to jump ahead in the closing minutes before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company fought back to avoid the ugly loss.
A contributing part of the historic run was second-year wing A.J. Lawson, who saw the floor on Saturday due to an influx of injuries. Lawson, who is on a two-way contract with the Mavs, played a season-high 19 minutes in the loss, scoring a season-high 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 from downtown.
“You look at a two-way like A.J. [Lawson] – I think he did an incredible job being able to see what shots were being presented and being able to turn down some shots to be able to get a better shot,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said postgame.
With the Mavs undermanned against the Thunder, missing Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Josh Green, it was Lawson who Kidd called upon as one of the beneficiaries, and he took advantage of the opportunity.
“I thought he did a great job, not just on the offensive end but on the defensive end,” Kidd said.
What this means for Lawson’s role going forward? It’s too early to tell, but if the 23-year-old is provided the opportunity, and he continues to rack up contributions like he did on Saturday, Lawson could look to crack Kidd’s rotation, and perhaps end up with a fully guaranteed contract at some point as well.
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