Thunder Advance to NBA Cup Semifinals in Vegas
After the Dallas Mavericks took a 118-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in last night’s NBA Cup game, one thing was obvious, Shai Gilegous-Alexander was the best player on the court. Shai had a superstar performance with 39 points against the rival young star in the West in Luka Doncic, who struggled for most of this game. The Mavs would start the game up 9-2 on a stretch of baskets from Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson before two early threes by lockdown defender and OKC wing Lu Dort would even the game about halfway through the first. The first half would stay close due to back-and-forth buckets by both teams, with everyone seemingly scoring except Luka who would have just two points and a dismal four turnovers at the break. The only people that kept the Mavs in the game were the performances of Klay Thompson with 11 and new offseason acquisition Naji Marshall.
Although Luka would play much better in the second half, finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, his ugly 33% from the field would be nearly enough to fend off an Oklahoma City team that would blow open the game in the third quarter. A blowout third quarter by the Thunder capped off by an Isaiah Joe buzzer beater would leave the game at a 90-73 lead for OKC. Dort’s impact on defense with his strength would once again show as Luka would look like his injured self from earlier in the season. OKC backup forward Kenriech Williams would also have a major statistical impact with the highest plus/minus besides Shai with a score of +17.
After their intense second-round series last year and the epic regular season moments they shared last year, this game was hyped up to be a premier game in this NBA Cup but ended as an OKC domination over a Mavericks team, who once again didn’t seem ready for the quarterfinals energy. The Mavericks now have lost in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup in back-to-back years and continue to show how low of a floor an unenergized Mavs team could have. The Thunder, on the other hand, add another win without breakout star center Chet Holmgren and will move to Las Vegas for the Semifinals of the NBA Cup against the winner of the Warriors and Rockets game on Wednesday night. The Thunder are now the second team to advance after the Bucks win over the Magic prior to this game, and have a real shot at winning if Shai keeps playing at such a high level. The Mavericks obviously have some things to think about but should be able to stay far above float due to their stars. The Mavericks will play their next game against the loser of the Warriors-Rockets in a game that will be treated like the regular season.
