Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 points (all 16 in the paint) and 12 rebounds, and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-94 for their fourth straight win.
The Thunder never trailed and led by as many as 22.
The Mavericks got within 95-94 on D'Angelo Russell’s 9-foot floater with 54 seconds to play, but Hartenstein answered with a driving layup, and the Mavericks got no closer.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2 free throws with 21.3 seconds left made it 99-94 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Thunder outscored the Mavericks 7-3. Hartenstein scored 4 of the Thunder’s 7 on 2 for 2 shooting.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points (18 in the paint) and 8 assists.
For the Mavericks, Anthony Davis had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Russell went 1 for 8 from 3.
The Thunder shot 46.7% from the field to the Mavericks’ 37.9% and outscored them 68-36 in the paint. The Mavericks outscored the Thunder 20-4 in 7 minutes with Davis, Russell, Washington, Hardy and Christie on the floor together.