Trailing the Mavericks by 11 at halftime, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked all but headed towards a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Semifinals. Shots still weren’t falling, and Dallas was doing just enough to keep a comfortable lead. A decent third quarter pulled OKC to within 4 headed into the final frame, but 4 straight points by the Mavs turned their lead into 8.
Slowly but surely, OKC was able to get back into the game behind the efforts of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Trailing by 6 with just under 6 minutes left to play, the Thunder went on a 9-0 run to take their first lead of the game since the first quarter when it was 4-2. With 3:24 remaining in the game, OKC never relinquished the lead as they went on to tie up the series 2-2 with a 100-96 win.
SGA finished with a game-high 34 points on 14-of-27 shooting to go with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Aside from Shai, Chet Holmgren finished with 18 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting, and Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams poured in 14 and 17 respectively, but they combined for just 9-of-33 from the field.
OKC is going to need contributions from more than just Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if they want to win this series, and it needs to start with Game 5. Jalen Williams has yes to have a great game this series, and the bench hasn’t added much offensively. Continuing to stay focused on defense while looking for their shot is going to be the key for OKC’s success tonight.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: 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 11-7 in the playoffs (5-4 at home, 6-3 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 2-2 against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).