Two days after Josh Giddey's miracle finish to snatch victory, the Chicago Bulls ran out of late heroics as they were edged 120-119 by the Dallas Mavericks at home.

Chicago fans were hoping for more of the same after Australian star Giddey clinched a 119-117 home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday with a stunning half-court buzzer-beater, sparking wild scenes.

They had reason for optimism after their team cut Dallas's 11-point lead late in the fourth quarter to 118-116 with 8.6 seconds remaining on Saturday.

But Klay Thompson made two free throws two seconds later for the Mavericks and they were careful not to foul Chicago's Nikola Vucevic, who made a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left.

The Bulls were chasing a season-best fifth straight victory - and ninth in 12 matches - but missed a chance to move closer to eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Giddey, who had posted 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the win over the Lakers, finished with a more modest eight, eight and four.

Thompson led the Mavericks with 20 points while PJ Washington had 19 and Anthony Davis 18.

Rookie Matas Buzelis scored 28 points for Chicago while Vucevic and Coby White each added 25.

Giddey and his Bulls next face a huge test, travelling to play his former team, the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder (62-12) remain on track to become only the third team in history to win 70 regular season games after thumping the Indiana Pacers 132-111.

They would need to win all remaining games to join the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors and 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points as the Thunder claimed a ninth straight win.

It was dominant Oklahoma City's 48th win of 10 or more points this season and the Thunder tied the NBA record for most victories against the opposing conference in NBA history.

Oklahoma City are 27-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season.

Meanwhile, the Lakers (45-29) put their Bulls loss behind them as they beat Memphis 134-127 with Austin Reaves posting 31 points and eight assists, Luka Doncic 29 points and nine assists and LeBron James 25 points.

In other Saturday matches, defending champions Boston beat San Antonio 121-111, Miami defeated Philadelphia 118-95, Orlando thumped Sacramento 121-91 and Brooklyn edged Washington 115-112.

- with Reuters and AAP