Luka Doncic leads the Dallas Mavericks to an important road win over Oklahoma City Thunder and take control of the series 3-2

NBA
Thursday, 16 May 2024 at 06:14
doncic mavs 2
The Dallas Mavericks continue to be in great form with their solid victory against Shai Gilgeous Alexander's Oklahoma City Thunder. Luka Doncic, visibly diminished because of multiple injuries, still was too much for OKC's defense, finishing with 31 points in the Mavs triumph 104 - 92.
The Mavericks bounced back from losing the previous game despite being ahead by 18 points in the third quarter. Today, Dallas came out focused from start to finish and it showed on the court. OKC struggled against the Mavs' defense, who also crashed the boards hard and won the rebounding duel.
Derek Lively, Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington all did an excellent job against Chet Holmgren, who was constantly harassed on defense. Derrick Jones Jr. once again stood out thanks to solid work on both sides of the court. The athletic forward finished with 19 points.
The offense was in charge of Luka Doncic, who despite the excellent job Lu Dort is doing scoring for him, managed to score 33 points, pull down 10 rebounds and dish out 11 assists. Luka looked diminished so Dallas will have to try to win the next game at the American Airlines Center to have a few more days of rest.
On the Thunder side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fantastic on offense. The 2nd in season MVP voting finished the game with 30 points on 55% field goal efficiency. Chet Holmgren, beleaguered by the Mavs' big men, scored 13 points and was 2nd in scoring for Mark Daigneault's team.
OKC has a lot of trouble scoring, they will have to be very sharp on offense if they want to have a chance to come home for a Game 7.
The Mavericks' defense is improving game after game. On a team that features two outstanding offensive players, it's the defense that is taking Jason Kidd's team to new heights. Can they close out the series on Saturday?