Thunder at Mavericks: Oct. 28 Tipoff, Injuries and First-Timer's Guide

Updated Oct. 27, 2026, late Eastern time: The schedule has not changed, but the injury picture is clearer. The Oklahoma City Thunder are scheduled to visit the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at American Airlines Center in Dallas. ESPN has the national telecast. The official NBA game page identifies the contest as game 0022600142. If this is one of your first NBA games, the time-zone guide, updated player statuses and simple viewing tips below will help you follow it without needing to memorize the rosters.

Game details: Wednesday evening in Dallas

The NBA and Mavericks' official schedule still list the Thunder as the road team and Dallas as the home team. Tipoff is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 8:30 p.m. in Dallas, Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC−05:00). That's 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC−04:00), or 01:30 UTC on Thursday, Oct. 29. The venue remains American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas.

The one-day difference in the UTC row is not a different game date: the calendar passes midnight in UTC while it is still Wednesday evening in Dallas. U.S. daylight saving time ends on Nov. 1, 2026, so the NIST daylight saving time guidance supports using CDT and EDT for this matchup rather than standard-time offsets. The listed time is the scheduled tip, not a promise that all pregame programming or arena doors start then.

Injury update: who's out and who's still uncertain?

Player availability is the substantive change since the previous guide. The statuses below reflect the Oct. 27 pregame reporting, including the NBA's continuously updated injury-report system and a game-specific report snapshot reviewed late on Oct. 27, at approximately 11:45 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00). They are pregame designations, not final starting lineups. The league allows updates through game day, so a questionable or doubtful player should not be treated as confirmed to play or sit.

Oklahoma City: The report lists Jalen Williams (left leg/ankle injury), Cason Wallace (left shoulder), Chet Holmgren (right knee), Alex Caruso (right ankle), Thomas Sorber (right knee) and Nikola Topić (lower back) as out. Ajay Mitchell is listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain. The NBA's Oct. 27 report separately confirms that Williams suffered a fractured left fibula and dislocated left ankle and will require surgery; it says no return timetable had been set. Do not interpret his status as a prediction about a return date.

Dallas: Dereck Lively II (right foot) and Sergio de Larrea (right knee sprain) are listed as out. Santi Aldama (right knee) and Tarik Biberovic (right heel) are doubtful, while Kyrie Irving (left knee injury management), Caleb Martin (right thumb) and Naji Marshall (illness) are questionable. In a pregame report carried by Reuters, Irving was also described as questionable and de Larrea as unavailable. These are snapshots; check again before choosing any player-specific viewing or fantasy plans.

Suspensions: No suspension was identified for these teams in the game-specific injury snapshot reviewed for this update. That is not a league-wide clearance or a guarantee against later changes. The most reliable approach is to consult the latest NBA injury report and the official Dallas and Oklahoma City team channels close to tipoff, rather than treating an earlier preview as a final active-player list.

How to watch or attend

The NBA's ABC/ESPN schedule and ESPN's broadcast announcement both identify Thunder–Mavericks as the 9:30 p.m. EDT game on ESPN on Oct. 28, after Philadelphia–Indiana at 7 p.m. EDT. This makes Oklahoma City at Dallas the later matchup on that scheduled Wednesday ESPN doubleheader.

For television or authorized streaming, confirm your provider carries ESPN and check its program guide for the broadcast window. A network assignment does not establish availability on every streaming package or in every country. Outside the United States, look up the licensed local broadcaster rather than assuming the U.S. channel applies. The NBA game page is useful for live game status and score updates when play begins; do not confuse the scheduled tip with the start of studio coverage.

For an in-person visit, use the current venue or official ticketing instructions for mobile tickets, doors, security procedures, accessible entry and transportation. American Airlines Center is the confirmed location, but entry and parking arrangements are not established by the NBA game schedule. Checking an event-specific notice before departure is more useful than relying on a generic arrival estimate.

Follow the game even if the lineups change

NBA regular-season basketball consists of four 12-minute quarters. If the teams are tied after regulation, they play a five-minute overtime period and repeat if necessary. Timeouts, fouls, reviews and halftime make the actual elapsed broadcast longer than 48 minutes. The league's official scoring and timing rules explain the structure.

• Start with score, quarter and game clock: These tell you who's ahead and how much time is left in the current period. Q1 means the first quarter; Q4 means the fourth.
• Watch possession and the shot clock: The team with the ball generally has 24 seconds to attempt a shot, subject to specific reset rules. A steal, offensive violation or other turnover changes possession.
• Notice rebounds and free throws: A rebound after a missed shot may end a possession or give the offense another chance. Fouls can stop play and, depending on circumstances, lead to free throws.

With several Thunder players listed out and Dallas managing multiple questionable and doubtful designations, the rotation is an especially useful thing to observe. A rotation is simply the group of players a coach uses and how their playing time is distributed. Watch which players handle the ball, defend key possessions and secure rebounds. That gives context to the action without implying that a particular replacement, starter or result has already been determined.

What to double-check before tipoff

First, use 8:30 p.m. CDT on Oct. 28 in Dallas—or the equivalent 9:30 p.m. EDT and Oct. 29 at 01:30 UTC—when setting your reminder. Second, check ESPN access or the authorized broadcaster where you live. Third, refresh the official injury report for any changes to the out, doubtful and questionable labels, and use the NBA game page for confirmed game status once it is updated. The scheduled venue and broadcast have been rechecked; player availability can still change before the opening tip.