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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t get much offensive help from his teammates Monday night.
I didn’t need it.
The Thunder All-Star powered a comeback from a 14-point first-half deficit to lead Oklahoma City to a 100-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. With the victory, the Thunder tied the Western Conference semifinals 2-2 to avoid returning Oklahoma City to the brink of elimination.
In a tough game for both teams, Gilgeous-Alexander was the star of the show with a 34-point effort. He helped rally the Thunder from a 22-8 first-quarter deficit and then fueled a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter that put the Thunder up, 89-86. Oklahoma City was not far behind again.
Thunder rally and missing Dončić FT secure victory in OKC
The Thunder struggled for much of the night against a stifling Dallas defense that repeatedly challenged Oklahoma City’s efforts in the paint. But Gilgeous-Alexander thrived while All-Stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving struggled in the Mavericks’ offense.
Dončić had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line in the final seconds. But he missed the front two shots with Dallas trailing, 96-94 with 10.1 seconds remaining. Gilgeous-Alexander iced the game with a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds left to secure the four-point victory.
Dallas jumps early
Sparked by PJ Washington and a dominant effort in the paint, Dallas took control early. The Mavericks led 30-20 after the first quarter and 54-43 at halftime. They did much of their early work on the boards with a 13-5 rebounding advantage in the first quarter and a 22-17 lead at halftime. They had tallied nine blocks by halftime while holding the Thunder to 34.9% shooting from the field. Oklahoma City made just 1 of 11 3-point attempts in the first half.
The Thunder change pace after the break
The Thunder responded in kind and put a stop to Dallas’ offense in the third quarter, limiting the Mavericks to 15 points in the stanza. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the quarter and the Thunder finished on a 22-12 run to cut their deficit to 69-65 at the start of the quarter.
Dallas held the lead for most of the fourth quarter until Gilgeous-Alexander took control of the game in the final six minutes. He scored eight consecutive Thunder points while repeatedly hitting contested shots to get the Thunder back into the game.
His baseline teardrop floater over Tim Hardaway Jr. and Washington tied the game at 86-86.
A 3-pointer by Chet Holmgren with an assist from Gilgeous-Alexander capped a 9-0 run that gave the Thunder their first lead since 4-2 in the first quarter at 89-86. They didn’t abandon him.
When it was over, Oklahoma City had erased its early rebounding deficit and secured a 47-45 lead on the glass for the game. The Thunder shot 6 of 16 from 3 after halftime after the single in the first half.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals while shooting 14 of 27 from the field. He missed his only three-point attempt. Holmgren added 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks while shooting 6 of 9 from the field. Jalen Williams (5 of 19), Josh Giddey (2 of 8) and Luguentz Dort (4 of 14) struggled from the field as Oklahoma City overcame a 38% shooting night to secure the victory.
Bad shots at the line doom Dallas
Dallas wasn’t much better from the field on a 40.9% shooting night. But it was the misses at the free throw line that proved costly down the stretch. The Mavericks missed five free throws in the fourth quarter on a 12-of-23 (52%) effort from the stripe overnight.
Dončić’s late miss stood out, but he was the only Mavericks player among six to shoot free throws to shoot over 50% at the stripe in a 4-for-6 effort. He finished with an 18-point, 12-rebound triple double and 10 assists. But the shooting woes that have plagued him throughout the postseason (41% before Monday) struck again with a 6-of-20 effort from the field.
Irving gave up his shots to his teammates while going 4 of 11 from the field in a nine-point, nine-assist effort. Washington led the Mavericks in scoring for the third straight game while posting 21 points and 12 rebounds and was 5-for-11 from 3. Unlike Games 2 and 3, his scoring production did not lead to a victory.
The series now returns to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
