With the month of January coming to a close, it is time to take a look at two of the most remarkable upsets in the National Basketball Association over the last week. On January 23, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-115 as a 12 point underdog, and on January 24, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-129 as a 10 point underdog.
The Mavericks win over the Thunder was significant for two reasons. Not only because it was only Oklahoma City’s eighth loss all year, but because Dallas had two significant injuries. Luka Doncic has not played since Christmas Day because of a left calf strain, and Klay Thompson was out with a sprained left ankle.
Dallas’s leading scorer turned out to be guard Spencer Dinwiddie of Los Angeles, California, who had 28 points. Meanwhile, four more Mavericks reached double figures in points. Guard Kyrie Irving of Melbourne, Australia had 24 points, power forward PJ Washington of Louisville, Kentucky had 22 points, Canadian power forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper of Montreal, Quebec had 14 points off the bench, and center Daniel Gafford of El Dorado, Arkansas had 12 points. It was a double double for Washington as he added 19 rebounds.
Meanwhile, in the 76ers win, Joel Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, was out with a knee injury, and Philadelphia was facing a Cleveland team that like Oklahoma City, only lost their eighth game all year. The 76ers had six players reach double digits in scoring. Power forward Paul George of Palmdale, California led the way with 30 points. He was followed by guard Tyrese Maxey of Dallas, Texas (29 points), small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. of New Orleans, Louisiana (22 points), shooting guard Eric Gordon of Indianapolis, Indiana (15 points), rookie small forward Justin Edwards of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (15 points), and center Guerschon Yabusele of Dreux, France (12 points). Yabusele and Oubre Jr. had double doubles as they had 13 rebounds each.
