Down 2-1 in their best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal series and on the road in Dallas on Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder sorely needed to tie the series at two.
Fortunately for them, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was there to bring them home in a 100-96 win.
Not having a lead since 4-2 in the early stages of the game, the Thunder slowly chipped away, a combination of tough misses from the Mavericks and tough makes from Gilgeous-Alexander, the most difficult of which would make Ford jealous - a fall away leaner on the left baseline that was released from near behind the basket. The sweet jumper from SGA tied the game up at 86 with four minutes remaining, for his 32nd point. On the next possession, after a scramble for the ball, Gilgeous-Alexander retrieved and drove from the top of the arc on PJ Washington. Drawing Luka Doncic from the corner, he whipped a pass out to Chet Holmgren, who calmly drilled the triple and held his follow through to see the ball in.
Doncic lobbed to Dereck Lively II to make the score 89-88, but Gilgeous-Alexander found a shooter in the corner once again, this time Lu Dort, whose triple went straight through. It was just Dort’s third three-point make of the game on 10 attempts.
After Tim Hardaway Jr. drilled a three from the top, a key sequence put the Thunder up by three, as Jalen Williams retrieved the ballI
in the corner off a deflection and drove by Lively II for a two-handed flush. Hardaway Jr. turned the ball over on the next possession, and Williams finished with a transition layup. 96-91, 1:07 remaining, timeout Mavericks. In effect, ballgame.
The Thunder seemingly could not make a basket through the first three quarters, no one - outside of SGA - really showing up. In the fourth though, effort on the defensive end and timely scores - noteably from Williams and Dort (just a combined 9-for-33 in the game) and Holmgren (18 points, 9 rebounds, 6-for-9) - were enough to get the win.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 34 points, to go along with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Taking just one three-pointer all night, he insisted on getting to his spots inside the arc, where he is among the best (if not the best) in the league at scoring from where he wants to in the floor.
Holmgren also played a great game, in what was all things considered - the stakes of potentially going down 3-1 - the biggest for him this season and maybe of his young career. His four blocks in his 40 minutes also provided the Thunder with the energy and defense that they needed.
The Thunder had just 12 bench points (six each from Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace), but got great defensive effort from Wallace and a timely triple from him down the stretch. As a team, they also made their free throws, making 23-of-24, while the home team made just 12-of-23. The Thunder protected the ball, just seven turnovers to the Mavericks’ 13, another major factor in allowing them to continue to stay in the game, and ultimately win.
The Mavericks head back to Oklahoma City with a knotted up series as opposed to the potential 3-1 lead they could have had if they finished out the last 12 minutes. The Thunder exploded in the fourth, scoring 35, with the Mavericks scoring just seven more than that in the entire second half.
Doncic and Irving combined for just 27 points (Doncic 18 of them) on a collective 10-for-31 (Doncic only 6-for-20). PJ Washington scored 21 and had 12 rebounds, while Derrick Jones Jr. had 17 and Daniel Gafford 10.
Game 5 is Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. from the Paycom Center.
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