Thunder Rally Late to Tie Series Up
The Oklahoma City Thunder entered this season as the second-youngest team in the NBA, behind only the San Antonio Spurs, with an average age of 24.12. However, if you watch them play their starters 25-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 21-year-old Josh Giddey, 23-year-old Jalen Williams, 25-year-old Luguentz Dort, and 22-year-old Chet Holmgren have a knowledge of the game that is far beyond their age suggests. While there have been questions all season long about whether or not the Thunder can go deep in this year's postseason with how young they are, night in and night out they are working as hard as they can to prove that belief wrong. Going into this game, after going down 2-1 to Dallas this past Saturday night, the Thunder knew Game Four was a must-win. Thankfully for them, they were able to rally late to beat Dallas 100-96 on the Mavericks home floor in this one. Let’s take a look at how Oklahoma City won this one!
From the opening tip-off of this game, Dallas was in charge as they finished a fast-paced first quarter up 30-20. The Mavericks, led by Luka Doncic and P.J. Washington who finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 21 points and 12 rebounds respectively, were able to use their sharp shooting and aggressive play to jump out to this early lead. However, the Thunder quickly responded, led by the sensational Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 34 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, displaying maturity beyond his years with his ability to put his team on his back and mount a comeback in this game. As the game progressed, tensions rose, with neither team willing to give an inch. The Thunder’s defense, anchored by Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander along with the rim protection of Holmgren providing four blocks, intensified, disrupting the Mavericks’ offensive rhythm and forcing turnovers. Despite Doncic’s valiant efforts to keep the Mavericks in the game with his triple-double performance, the Thunder maintained their composure and executed on both ends of the floor.
In the pivotal moments of the fourth quarter, with the game hanging in the balance, it was Gilgeous Alexander who rose to the occasion again to help Oklahoma City regain the lead with help from Holmgren, Dort, and Williams who finished with 18, 17, and 14 points respectively. When we look at the statistics of this one it is easy to see that Dallas did not get the win when their two best players Doncic and Kyrie Irving only combined for 27 points which is down significantly from the over 50 points they have averaged combined in the playoffs thus far. Foul shooting, ultimately costing them this game, was also a huge problem for Dallas on Monday night as the Mavericks shot close to 52% from the line. The Thunder may have won this one but it feels as if Dallas really let it slip away when you think about the fact Oklahoma City won shooting 38% from the field which is the lowest they have shot all season in a win. Can the Thunder’s young core carry them to a win in this series or will Irving and Doncic bounce back to carry the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals?
