Luka Doncic, Mavs beat Thunder,
grab 3-2 series edge
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[May 16, 2024]
Luka Doncic finished with 31 points and delivered his second
consecutive triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks moved one victory
from their second Western Conference finals appearance in three
seasons with a 104-92 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on
Wednesday.
The Mavericks hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven, second-round
series as they head home for Game 6 on Saturday.
Doncic, who has been playing with multiple injuries through the
course of the playoffs, also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
"I think you saw his intent," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "He was
aggressive, he was making shots, taking shots, the deep 3, being
able to get to the basket, playmaking for his bigs and also the
wings. And also the trust factor. I thought he did a great job of
taking care of the ball, but his intent was to get to the basket and
score, and he did that at a high level."
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 19 points for the Mavericks, and P.J.
Washington had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Dereck Lively
II added 11 points and 10 rebounds off the Dallas bench, while Kyrie
Irving added 12 points.
Dallas finished off Oklahoma City on Wednesday after taking a 100-96
defeat in Game 4 on Monday when the Mavericks blew a 14-point,
third-quarter lead and an eight-point lead with less than eight
minutes to go. The Mavericks are now 4-0 after a loss this
postseason.
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"It's just our mentality," Doncic said. "We know in the last game we
played them at home, we let it go. It was our mistakes and they hit
shots. In the playoffs, it's the first to four. You have to win four
before they do, so you have to go game by game."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and Chet Holmgren added 13
for the top-seeded Thunder, who are now forced to win consecutive
games in order to advance. Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort each
scored 12 points for Oklahoma City, which never led after the first
quarter.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said, "The thing I was
encouraged by offensively is that I thought we looked like ourselves
stylistically. ... There were times in Games 2, 3, 4 that I just
felt we were in a headlock offensively and jammed up against their
defense.
"I thought we were there tonight but maybe missed a couple of plays,
missed a couple of shots. I was actually encouraged by the process
tonight of improving during the series. I thought defensively we
maybe took a step back, and credit them. They did a great job."
The Mavericks pushed in front just over four minutes into the game
and led 24-22 after the first quarter. Dallas was up by as many as
15 points in the first half before settling for a 54-44 lead at the
break after shooting 56.1 percent. Doncic had 17 points in the first
two quarters on 7-of-11 shooting.
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![](../images/051624PIX/sports46.jpg)
May 15, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard
Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket beside Oklahoma City Thunder
forward Jaylin Williams (6) during the second half of game five of
the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center.
Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
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Gilgeous-Alexander kept Oklahoma City within
striking distance by scoring 14 points in the third quarter, but his
teammates were only able to contribute nine points -- all from
reserves -- against a relentless Dallas defense.
Asked what went wrong with the Thunder's offense, Gilgeous-Alexander
said, "Just being in the moment it was hard to tell, but I felt like
we played the right way, got a lot of good looks, they just didn't
go in. That's what it felt like. ...
"They make you move the ball, make you make multiple efforts
offensively, make you spray the ball. Their bigs are parked down
there pretty much the whole game, bump you out. I thought we did a
good job of attacking, moving the ball, the looks just really didn't
go in."
The Mavericks took a 79-67 lead into the fourth quarter after the
Thunder briefly pulled within single digits.
Dallas pulled ahead 86-71 on a floater from Doncic with 10:11
remaining, then grabbed its biggest lead of the game to that point
at 89-71 on a long 3-pointer from Doncic with 9:31 left.
The Thunder used a 10-0 run to pull within 89-81 on a driving layup
from Williams. But Dallas got consecutive baskets from Washington
for a 95-85 lead with 4:04 on the clock.
Neither team made a field goal for more than two minutes before
Dallas went up 99-86 on a fastbreak dunk from Jones with 2:01 to
play.
Doncic helped save the day on defense when he blocked Gilgeous-Alexander's
fastbreak layup attempt with 55 seconds left.
"Next year, all-NBA defensive team," Doncic said with a laugh. "The
ball escaped a little bit from him, so that's why the block
(happened)."
--Field Level Media
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