Cooper Flagg scored 26 points with eight assists and five rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-96 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday 28 October 2026, handing the Thunder their first defeat of the season.

A close first half, then Dallas pulls away

Oklahoma City arrived 4-0 and chasing a fifth straight win to start the season, but left 4-1 after a second half in which they were held to just 37 points. Dallas improved to 3-2, moving above .500 for the first time since Flagg joined the team last autumn.

The third quarter breaks it open

Flagg started hot with 12 first-quarter points, and Dallas led 33-30 after the opening period. Oklahoma City, despite missing three starters through injury, hung close for much of the first half, cutting a 12-point deficit to four late in the second quarter before Dallas took a 65-59 lead into the break.

Shooting tells the story

The third quarter broke the game open. Dallas opened the second half with an 11-0 run, started by Flagg finding Kyrie Irving and finished by Flagg's own jumper, and never looked back. The Mavericks led by 27 in the fourth as the Thunder's shooting fell from better than 51 percent in the first half to 30 percent after the break. Dallas hit a season-best 16 three-pointers on 45 attempts, while Oklahoma City managed just 5 of 32. P.J. Washington scored 18 for Dallas and Irving added 15 in his first home regular-season game since his torn ACL in March 2025. Ajay Mitchell led Oklahoma City with 29 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 21, but the short-handed Thunder — without Williams, Wallace, Holmgren and Caruso — could not keep pace once Dallas found its range.

Sources: Associated Press via Herald Review, Deadspin.