Trey Murphy reveals Naji Marshall’s playful text following the controversial ending to the Pelicans' 119-116 win over the Mavericks.

Jason Kidd went with an unorthodox starting lineup in an attempt to end a season-long four-game losing streak. The Dallas Mavericks coach inserted Naji Marshall as the primary ball handler in the first unit and did not start any of his traditional point guards.

Marshall won't start in Friday's game against the Thunder, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News reports. Marshall is retreating to Dallas' bench with Kyrie Irving back in the lineup. Over his last six games, Marshall is averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 threes in 28.4 minutes.

Kyrie Irving on the trade that sent him from Brooklyn to Dallas: “Best trade in the business baby. We won that trade! We won that trade! I was bad goods.”Source: Twitter What’s

The Dallas Mavericks bounced back from a three-game losing streak, including a controversial loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. OKC entered the game tied for the NBA's best record and had just beaten the other team with the top record by 20 points.

The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a 106-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The rare defeat had plenty of caveats for both sides. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a late scratch with a wrist sprain. He joined Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in street clothes.

The Dallas Mavericks returned home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a one-game tilt at the American Airlines Center on Friday night. The Mavericks narrowly defeated the Thunder 106-98 in regulation.

Marshall returned to a bench role Friday due to the return of Kyrie Irving, but the former Xavier forward still made his presence felt in this matchup by recording a double-double off the bench. Marshall has been playing well of late and has scored in double digits in five of his seven outings this month,

Both Dallas and OKC were missing MVP candidates on Friday night, but the Mavericks were able to get a much-needed victory.

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.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 106-98 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points, Spencer Dinwiddie and P.J. Washington Jr. added 16 apiece and the Dallas Mavericks beat Oklahoma City 106-98 as Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season.