On May 10, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA playoffs are in full swing, and a key battle in the West has begun, and the No. 1 Thunder in the West will usher in a G2 showdown with the Mavericks at home. In the first game between the two sides, the Thunder defeated the Mavericks by 22 points 117-95, Doncic was in a sluggish state, 1 of 8 3-pointers, and scored 19 points in the game, and Irving was invisible in the first half and scored 20 points in the half. The Thunder blossomed more under the leadership of SGA, and all five players on the team scored double-doubles. SGA scored 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, played a quasi-3-double data, and clocked out early in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks will definitely be looking for a change in this game, especially when it comes to the use of Doncic. Both sides are fighting with all their main forces, and the big battle is about to break out!
At the beginning of the first quarter, Doncic played more without the ball, and when he encountered the bag, he played the ball in time, and came up with a wave of 7-0 to take the lead; Giddey broke through the basket to stop the bleeding, and Doncic scored 5 points in a row with internal and external strength, and the difference widened to double digits! After that, SGA and Jay Wei teamed up to chase the score, Jaylin Williams hit a 3-point shot, Jayway made a layup and hit again, and the difference came to 3 points! At the critical moment, Washington hit a 3-pointer, Jaylin Williams hit an empty cut layup, and the Mavericks called a timeout; After the pause, the two sides went back and forth, and the score difference remained around 5 points. At the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks led by 4 points at 36-32; Doncic was powerful in the first quarter, shooting 6 of 8, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and scoring 16 points, and another 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Washington also scored 11 points, but Irving continued to "fish" in the half, relying only on free throws to score 1 point in the first quarter;
In the second quarter, the two teams continued to open the offensive mode, and both got a lot of opportunities to shoot from the outside. The Mavericks made 4 of 10 3-pointers, and the inside score basically came from impacting the restricted area, hitting 6 of 10 shots and scoring 32 points in a single quarter; Doncic encountered strict defense in this quarter, making only 1 of 3 shots and scoring 2 points; Irving scored 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting, but the rest of the players stepped up and took advantage of the open spot. Green hit all two shots from the outside of the quarter, and Washington went on to score eight points on 3-of-6 shooting; The Thunder was 4 of 9 outside in this quarter, and the inside score also relied on attacking the basket, and the whole team scored 30 points in a single quarter; At halftime, the Mavericks led by six points at 68-62;
Yibian fought again, the Thunder blew the horn of counterattack, Wiggins scored 3 points, Irving responded with a step-back jumper, Holmgren continued with 3 points, SGA teamed up with Wiggins to continue 4 points, and the Thunder took the lead for the first time in this game; Dort's 3-pointer stopped the Mavericks; After a timeout, Washington hit a 3-pointer, and the Mavericks launched a wave of offense, a wave of 15-2 offense stretched the difference to 11 points! Although Irving still doesn't score much, he frantically sends assists; Giddey hit a drift hit to stop the bleeding, SGA made a quick stop and hit again, and Washington responded with a 3-pointer at the critical moment, and the two sides fought around a 10-point difference. Doncic re-enters the game in place of Irving; Jones scored a layup on the inside and led by 10 points at 99-89 after the third quarter;
In the final quarter, Carson Wallace took the lead in a step-back jumper, Dort responded with a layup, Jewei made up a dunk to continue the firepower, and the Thunder chased a wave to a 5-point difference! Jones hit a drift shot at a critical moment, and Doncic ruthlessly scored a 3-pointer and stopped the Thunder! After that, the two sides went back and forth, and the Mavericks always maintained a lead of about 8 points. In the end, the Thunder counterattack failed, and the score was fixed at 119-110, and the Mavericks pulled one back away, and the score was tied 1-1.
Statistics:
Doncic 29 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, Washington 29 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, Irving 7 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists, Gafford 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, Jones 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Hardaway 17 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, Green 11 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist;
On the Thunder side, SGA had 33 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks, Jayway 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, Holmgren 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks, Dort 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Giddey 8 points and 2 boards, and Jaylin Williams 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.