Mavericks' Harrison Barnes: Leads team with 31 in losing effort

Barnes scored 31 points (13-26 FG, 2-2 3Pt, 3-3 FT) and added two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 39 minutes during Thursday's 109-98 loss to the Thunder.

Analysis:

Barnes stepped up his scoring with both Dirk Nowitzki (rest) and Deron Williams (toe) out. Barnes matched his second highest scoring total this season. The absence of the other stars of the Mavericks rotation did not impact Barnes' workload, but as he already averages 35.8 minutes per game, there was not a lot of room for his minutes to increase in the first place. Offensively, Barnes has definitively moved on from a six-point dud against the Lakers Sunday, posting back-to-back games of at least 50 percent field goal shooting.