Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks are back at it.
The Mavericks, after a crushing loss to open the series, topped the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 on Thursday night at the Paycom Center. The win tied the series 1-1 as it heads to Dallas for Game 3 on Saturday night. It was also Oklahoma City’s first loss in this year’s playoffs.
Dončić nearly had a triple-double and PJ Washington erupted for a playoff career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead the Mavericks to victory. His 119 points were the most the Thunder have allowed this postseason after the Western Conference’s top seed upset the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round.
The Mavericks hold out late
Dončić and the Mavericks came out hot in the first quarter, and he went into triple-double surveillance almost immediately. Dončić scored 16 points and hit four of the Mavericks’ eight 3-pointers in the first quarter to put them ahead instantly. He accounted for 24 of Dallas’ 36 points in the first quarter.
The Mavericks’ lead was cut to four points late in the first quarter after Thunder center Chet Holmgren made a ridiculous buzzer-beater on an inbounds pass.
While the Mavericks nearly pulled away before halftime and took a 15-point lead, Oklahoma City went on a 15-4 run to cut the score to a single possession. Despite allowing 68 points in the first half, the Thunder entered the locker room trailing only five points at halftime.
Aaron Wiggins provided a big spark for the Thunder to start the second half. After starting the third quarter in place of Josh Giddey, Wiggins led the Thunder on a 13-4 burst and gave them their first lead of the game with a decisive floater at the line.
That, however, was the biggest lead the Thunder achieved. The Mavericks, with Dončić on the bench, used an 18-4 run that included 10 straight points from Tim Hardaway Jr. to once again take a double-digit lead.
Although the Thunder stayed close during the fourth quarter, the Mavericks kept them at arm’s length the rest of the game. Dončić seemed to have an answer for everything, and the Thunder had a rough stretch in which they made just 1 of 11 field goal attempts down the stretch, allowing the Mavericks to pull away.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the loss. He shot 13 of 24 from the field. Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Holmgren finished with 11 points and six rebounds. The Thunder, who swept the Pelicans in the first round, had not allowed more than 95 points in a postseason game until Thursday night.
Dončić led Dallas with 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Washington had 11 rebounds and four assists to go along with his 29 points while shooting 7 of 11 from behind the arc. Hardaway added 17 points off the bench after going 6 of 9 from the field. Kyrie Irving had 11 assists and nine points, but was just 2 of 8 from the field.
The Mavericks have health problems. Dončić has been dealing with a leg injury and briefly sprained his ankle on Thursday, while Daniel Gafford played with a wrist injury. However, they achieved a much-needed road victory early in the series. If they are going to reach a second Western Conference final in three years, that was key before returning to Dallas.
