The Dallas Mavericks star, after a poor outing in Game 4 of their series, was back to his old self on Wednesday night. He didn’t argue much with the officers, which is rare lately, and his knee didn’t seem to bother him. Dončić recorded a huge 30-point triple-double to lead the Mavericks to a 104-92 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series at the Paycom Center.
The victory, after Dončić and the Mavericks blew a perfect opportunity to push the conference’s top seed to the brink of elimination in Game 4 of the series on Monday night, now leaves Dallas up 3-2 in the series. They are just one win away from securing a second trip to the Western Conference finals in the last three seasons and prematurely ending the Thunder’s best season in nearly a decade.
“I was just trying to play basketball, trying to focus on basketball,” Dončić said on TNT. “Sometimes I forget that this is what I love, this is what I do. My mental approach was to just go out and play basketball, put a smile on my face and just leave.”
After a tight opening period, the Mavericks broke the game open in the second quarter. They opened the period with a huge 16-5 run and at the same time largely slowed down the Thunder offense, which went almost four full minutes without scoring a field goal. Dončić also threw a ridiculous full-court lob to Dereck Lively during that stretch.
Although they jumped 15 points at the peak, the Mavericks held on late in the period to take a 10-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
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Dallas, despite taking only two free throws during the first 36 minutes, maintained its double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter. Every time the Thunder started to close the gap like, after a ridiculous and-1 by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the final minute of the period, the Mavericks had the perfect response.
Dončić and the Mavericks also closed out the game almost immediately in the fourth quarter. They opened the period with a 10-4 run and forced a timeout for the Thunder just three minutes into the game. Dončić also scored eight of those points, including a deep three-pointer that suddenly put them up by 19.
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While the Thunder went on a very quick 10-0 run midway through the quarter to threaten Dallas’ victory, it came too late. The Mavericks held on for the 12-point victory, which was sealed in part by Derrick Jones Jr.’s huge block on Chet Holmgren’s 3-pointer and a grand slam in the final two minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in the loss. Holmgren finished with 13 points and four rebounds, and Jalen Williams added 12 points and six rebounds. The Thunder shot just 25% from behind the arc as a team and allowed more than 100 points for the third time so far this postseason.
Dončić finished with 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds after making 12 of 22 field goals in Dallas’ victory. He marked his third career 30-point postseason triple-double. Jones added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, and Kyrie Irving finished with 12 points. PJ Washington, who has dominated this series, finished with 10 points (all in the second half) and 10 rebounds.
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