OKC Thunder's First Round Matchup Down to Mavericks, Grizzlies

On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks issued a beatdown of the Kings in Sacramento, cementing their spot in the final Western Conference Play-In game versus Memphis. The winner will earn the coveted final spot in the Playoffs, a meeting with the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Mavericks took it to the Kings essentially from the get-go, jumping out to a small lead before Klay Thompson exploded in the second quarter, looking reminiscent of his Bay Area self. With Anthony Davis adding similar scoring production — and the Mavericks generally being the more physical team all night — they were able to leave Sacramento with a big win.

The Thunder, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, are still unable to scout their future opponent singularly, with the No. 2 seeds getting their opponents for the first round on Tuesday night.

It matters little who OKC faces, be it Memphis or Dallas, as they’re focused on continued inward growth and much longer term goals. But there’s a team the Thunder have clearly seen more success against this season.

OKC won all four of their contests against Memphis this season, finishing as a +73 in total. On the flip-side of that coin, the Thunder lost three of four games against Dallas, with Luka Doncic playing in zero of those losses.

The Grizzlies now stand in Dallas’ way, having suffered a close, near-come-from-behind loss to the Warriors on Tuesday night. A late onslaught from Steph Curry, as well as clutch free throw shooting, helped Golden State to the No. 7 seed.

The Grizzlies and Mavericks will face off on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. for the No. 8 seed.