Mavericks overcome huge third-quarter deficit to oust Thunder
The Dallas Mavericks led for just one minute during the first 44-plus minutes of Saturday’s postseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But down the stretch, the Mavericks were wiser and more resilient than the ultra-talented Thunder while overcoming a 17point, third-quarter deficit.
“You get to the point where you have the opportunity to close out a team, you have to take full advantage of it,” Dallas guard Kyrie Irving said afterward.
The Mavericks did just that as P.J. Washington made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left and Dallas advanced to the Western Conference finals for the second time in the past three seasons with a 117-116 victory over the visiting Thunder.
Washington was fouled shooting a three-pointer and missed the third free throw on purpose to prevent a Thunder squad out of timeouts from being able to set up for a final shot. Jalen Williams’ 64-footer as time expired was nowhere near the basket as top-seeded Oklahoma City was eliminated in Game 6 of a second-round playoff series.
The Mavericks will face either Denver or Minnesota in the Western Conference finals.
Luka Doncic recorded 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the fifth-seeded Mavericks. Irving and Derrick Jones Jr. added 22 points apiece, Dereck Lively II had 12 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and Daniel Gafford had 10 points.
“We said at halftime we weren’t going back to Oklahoma,” Doncic said of his team’s 16-point halftime deficit.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander registered 36 points and eight assists for Oklahoma City. Williams added 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Chet
Holmgren scored 21 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander stood out during his first trip to the playoff stage and scored at least 29 points in every game of this series.
But he was called for the foul on Washington with the Thunder nursing a one-point lead in the final seconds.
“I should not have fouled him,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We talk about it all year — the little things that go into winning games and being disciplined. If I had the moment back, I wouldn’t have fouled him and would just let him make or miss the shot.”
Oklahoma City shot 47.8 percent from the field, including 15 of 41 (36.6 percent) from three-point range.
The Mavericks connected on 51.2 percent of their shots and were 16 of 34 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc.
For summaries and complete scores go to the eEdition at MiamiHerald.com.
SECOND ROUND
(Best-of-7)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
BOSTON 4, CLEVELAND 1
Celtics win series
G1: Boston 120, Cleveland 95
G2: Cleveland 118, Boston 94
G3: Boston 106, Cleveland 93
G4: Boston 109, Cleveland 102
G5: Boston 113, Cleveland 98 INDIANA 4, NEW YORK 3
Pacers win series
G1: New York 121, Indiana 117
G2: New York 130, Indiana 121
G3: Indiana 111, New York 106
G4: Indiana 121, New York 89
G5: New York 121, Indiana 91
G6: Indiana 116, New York 13 Sunday: Indiana 130, New York 109
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DALLAS 4, OKLAHOMA CITY 2 Mavericks win series
G1: Oklahoma City 117, Dallas 95 G2: Dallas 119, Oklahoma City 110 G3: Dallas 105, Oklahoma City 101 G4: Oklahoma City 100, Dallas 96 G5: Dallas 104, Oklahoma City 92 G6: Dallas 117, Oklahoma City 116 DENVER 3, MINNESOTA 3
G1: Minnesota 106, Denver 99
G2: Minnesota 106, Denver 80
G3: Denver 117, Minnesota 90
G4: Denver 115, Minnesota 107 G5: Denver 112, Minnesota 97
G6: Minnesota 115, Denver 70 Sunday: at Denver