The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks kicked off the Western Conference Semifinals on Tuesday for Game 1, and after 12 minutes of play, the teams were deadlocked at 23 points apiece. The game started to turn in the Thunder’s favor in the second quarter as they pushed a lead to double digits. The Mavericks made a run to cut it to one midway through the third period, but OKC caught fire from downtown—knocking down 11-of-19 threes in the second half—to push the lead to as much as 25 before eventually pulling out the 117-95 victory.
Despite the convincing win in Game 1, the Thunder fully understand that this series is far from over. The Dallas Mavericks are an incredibly talented team on the offensive end, and they have made great strides on the defensive end in the second half of the season. OKC fans can count on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Runner Up—to come in and do what he does as a superstar, but it’s the Thunder’s depth that has made them deadly. The rest of the starting five—Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, and Josh Giddey—are all capable of big games, but there are a number of guys that can come off the bench and make a major impact as well. Aaron Wiggins was that guy in Game 1, pouring in 16 points behind 3-of-4 shooting from three, and the Thunder will need guys to continue to step up if they want to keep winning.
As far as the Mavericks go, Luka Doncic, who finished third in the MVP voting, appears to be less than 100%, so perhaps more of a burden is falling on Kyrie Irving. Regardless of who is going to carry the load for the Mavs, they have to be better on the defensive end if they want to turn this series into a competitive one.
The Thunder have played tough, aggressive basketball in all 5 games of their playoff run so far, and that is ultimately what has given them the advantage. They will need to maintain that tenacity on both ends of the floor if they want to continue to get winning results, but based on how this season has gone, that shouldn’t be too much to ask from perhaps one of the greatest young teams the NBA has ever seen.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center
Television: NBA on TNT
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Dallas Mavericks Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Josh Giddey
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Jalen Williams
- C: Chet Holmgren
Mavericks
- PG: Luka Doncic
- SG: Kyrie Irving
- SF: Derrick Jones Jr.
- PF: P.J. Washington
- C: Daniel Gafford
Injury Report
Thunder
- NONE
Mavericks
- Luka Doncic is PROBABLE (sprained right knee).
- Maxi Kleber is OUT (sprained right shoulder).
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper is OUT (sprained left ankle).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 30-26 against the Mavericks in the regular season (17-11 at home, 13-15 on the road) and 10-5 in the playoffs (5-3 at home, 5-2 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder have won the season series against the Mavericks 5 times, lost 7 times, and tied 3 times.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Mavericks last season (1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- The Thunder went 3-1 against the Mavericks this season (2-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- The Thunder are 1-0 against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals (1-0 at home, 0-0 on the road).