That decision forced the Thunder to stick close to the Mavericks' role players throughout the first quarter. Once Washington scored the first five points, Irving asserted himself and drained a 3-pointer before finishing at the basket with a finger roll to give the Mavericks an early 10-0 lead.

Dallas improved to 23-19 while Oklahoma City remain top of the West with a 34-7 record. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points as the Dallas Mavericks brought the high-flying Oklahoma City Thunder down to earth with a 106-98 victory over the Western Conference leaders on Friday.