On May 8, 2024, Beijing time, in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs, the Thunder ushered in the G1 battle with the Mavericks at home, with the Thunder starting: Alexander + Giddey + Dort + Jalen + Chet, and the Mavericks starting: Doncic + Irving + Jones + Washington + Gafford .
In the first quarter of the game, Washington scored three points, Alexander and Dort scored 5 points in a row, the Thunder 5-3, Doncic scored 5 points in a row to exceed 3 points, Chet made a layup and completed an empty dunk 2+1, the Thunder overtook 2 points, Gafford couldn't prevent him, the Mavericks hurriedly replaced Lively, Doncic shot, Giddey made a layup, the Thunder led by 2 points, Green hit 2 three-pointers in a row, Jaylin and Alexander responded, the Thunder led by 1 point, Gafford and Exum scored, Jaylin and Alexander responded, and the first quarter ended 23-23.
In the second quarter of the game, Hardaway made a layup, Wiggins hit 2 three-pointers, the Thunder overtook 4 points, Irving scored 4 points in a row, Lively dunked, the Mavericks overtook 2 points, Wiggins, Chet, Alexander overtook 5 points, Jones, Doncic scored, Chet hooked hands, Alexander scored consecutive free throws, the difference was 8 points, Gafford and Irving chased the difference to 4 points, Wallace and Chet expanded the difference to 9 points, Jones and Green scored, Jalen and Alexander made consecutive free throws, Wiggins made a shot, the difference was 12 points, and Gafford scored 5 points in a row, Jaylin scored on the front court to give the Thunder a 62-53 lead at halftime.
Alexander was 5-of-10 from the field and 9-of-11 from the field with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Chet was 5-of-9 from the field with 11 points and 3 boards, Wiggins was 4-of-6 from the field with 12 points and 2 boards, and the Mavericks Doncic had 12 points, 3 boards and 4 assists on 4-of-12 shooting, Irving had 6 points and 2 assists on 2-of-4 from the field, and Gafford had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks on 4-of-7 shooting.
In the third quarter of the game, Jalen shot, the Thunder led by 11 points, Irving chased the difference to 8 points, Alexander made 2 free throws and 2 hits, Gafford 2 + 1, Washington, Irving three points, the difference chased to 1 point, and Isaiah Joe, Dort, Chet, and Alexander hit three points in a row, although Doncic scored 4 points, but the difference expanded to 11 points, Green scored three points, Alexander, Isaiah Joe scored consecutive points, the difference was 15 points, Washington threw and Irving pressed the whistle for three points, and the Thunder led 89-79 in the third quarter. Irving scored 11 points in the quarter and Alexander had 10.
In the fourth quarter of the game, Chet scored three points, the Thunder led by 13 points, Gafford made 1 of 2 free throws, Chet dunked, the difference was 14 points, Irving chased the difference to 9 points, Jalen scored 8 points in a row, the difference was 17 points, Doncic made a layup, Wiggins and Wallace hit three points in a row, the difference was 22 points, there were 5 minutes left in the game, the Mavericks withdrew the main force, and finally the Thunder defeated the Mavericks 117-95.
Alexander had 29 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocks on 8-of-19 shooting (2-of-4 from three-point range), Chet had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks on 8-of-16 shooting, Jalen had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 6-of-15 shooting, and Wiggins had 16 points and 5 boards on 5-of-7 shooting (3-of-4 from three-point range), setting a playoff career scoring record and becoming a wonder soldier, with Jaylin scoring 11 points and 9 boards.
Doncic had 19 points, 6 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals and 5 turnovers on 6-of-19 (1-of-8 three-pointers), Irving had 20 points, 1 board, 3 assists and 2 steals on 7-of-14 (3-of-4 three-pointers), Gafford had 16 points, 11 boards and 5 blocks on 5-of-12 shooting, and set a personal playoff career record for rebounding, Washington had 10 points and 6 boards, and Green had 11 points, 4 boards and 3 assists.
Before this round of games, the industry was more optimistic about the Mavericks, because Irving and Doncic had rich experience in the playoffs, and the Thunder lacked playoff experience.