Chris Paul said he was energised by fourth quarter 'winning time' as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to beat the Dallas Mavericks.
Paul hit the go-ahead basket with 40.9 seconds left and Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder scored 20 points apiece as the Thunder overturned a seven-point deficit in the final three minutes to defeat the Mavericks 106-101.
Paul scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds and seven assists for the Thunder, who have won seven of their last eight games to move into seventh place in the Western Conference. During that stretch, they have also had comebacks from 26, 24 and 18 points down to win.
"The really good teams in our league, the last four or five minutes, they really lock down and tighten up," Paul said. "That is what we did. We have got to figure out how to put the whole game together, but I am happy with what we have been doing.
"I missed that mid-range [shot] all game long but the guys have confidence in me. That's why it has been so much fun this season. Your adrenaline gets running in that fourth quarter. There is nothing like winning time. Team effort. Gallo, first game back, he was missing early. I was missing early. But we stayed the course."
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but he and Maxi Kleber each missed a potential tying three-point attempt in the final seconds.
"We got two pretty good looks, I would say," Doncic said. "We think that in any game, but the ball just didn't go in, so I hope the next time it goes in."
Dallas played without usual starters Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., who missed the game due to injuries.
"We are not going to be an excuse team," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We are not going to go there. We have just got to execute a little bit better at both ends. It was a one-possession game up until the last part of the game, so one more make and one more miss one way or the other and the things different. But that is the NBA now. There is a very thin margin for error and you have got to be really good at both ends."
Dallas led 99-92 after a three-pointer by Doncic with 2:56 left, but Oklahoma City took a 102-101 lead when Paul hit a 17-foot jumper.
Gallinari, who missed the Thunder's previous four games due to a sore left ankle, poked the basketball away from Doncic at the other end, leading to two free throws by Schroder with 19.9 seconds left.
"I was just trying to play defense off the scouting report," Gallinari said. "He likes to go left rather than right, so I knew he was going to get back to his left hand. It was a good play."
After Kleber and Doncic both missed their three-point attempts, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sealed the win with two free throws with 2.9 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"We just want to win and were starting to figure out what we need to do, specifically, on both ends of the floor to get the win, and we're doing it," Gilgeous-Alexander said.