In an NBA playoff game that ended today, the Mavericks defeated the Thunder 119-110, the process was quite intense, the Thunder only trailed by 4 points in the first quarter, and the second quarter of the score difference still could not be opened, in the first half of the third quarter, the Thunder suddenly exerted force and overtook the score, in the second half of the second half Hardaway Jr. became the wonder soldier of the Mavericks, he led the team to regain the lead, the final quarter Doncic and Alexander competed, the Thunder counterattack failed, and finally the Mavericks won. In terms of statistics, Doncic scored 29 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, Irving had 9 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Washington had 29 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, and Hardaway Jr. had 17 points and 2 rebounds.
The series is 1-1 after this game, and the series prospects are favorable for the Mavericks, because G3 and G4 are both played in Dallas, and as long as they can win these two games, then the Mavericks can get match points. Looking back at the first round against the Clippers, the Mavericks also suffered a crushing defeat in G1 at that time, but then they adjusted in time, and this time against the Thunder, the Mavericks are likely to stage a similar plot. The Thunder mainly lost at four points today, first of all, there are fewer points than the Mavericks, only Alexander plays normally, Jalen Williams barely qualified, and the others are not ideal, on the other hand, the Mavericks have a total of 5 people who scored double-doubles, in addition to Doncic, Washington, Hardaway Jr., Gafford and Josh Green all stepped up.
This is still based on the fact that Irving did not make a force, Irving only took 8 shots, focusing on defense and organization throughout the court, and it seemed that Alexander handed over 13 of 24 shots, but when Irving defended, Alexander actually played very hard, and his teammates were generally sluggish. The second reason for the Thunder's loss, the first half is the most obvious they were blown up inside, and the rebounds were also lost badly, unlike G1, the Mavericks showed their determination to win at the beginning, all members are very hard, the Thunder is a little slow due to the lack of playoff experience, and the back is basically in the process of chasing points, in the third quarter they once overtook and couldn't keep the lead, the reason is that the Thunder are too dependent on Alexander.
Holmgren and Jalenway have to step up, or the Thunder won't win. The third reason for losing, the Thunder made more mistakes, and the final reason for the loss, the Thunder's defense was terrible, especially the outside line gave the Mavericks a lot of vacant opportunities, and one thing has to be mentioned, the Thunder only made 10 of 30 three-point shots, and the Mavericks shot 18 of 37, with an obvious gap. Of course, Thunder G3 can't still be so iron, the overall strength of the two sides is actually very close, and I am afraid that this round of the series will play at least 6 games. On the Mavericks' side, Doncic scored 16 points in the first quarter, and played with injuries in the second three quarters, playing very tough, like a round in the final quarter where he broke his foot, and then staggered and shot a three-pointer, and Doncic also created an NBA miracle today.
Doncic has scored at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and made at least 5 three-pointers nine times in the playoffs, the third-most in NBA history, behind Curry (34, 147 playoff games) and Harden (10, 166 games). After talking about Doncic, you have to also praise Irving, Irving's stats are not impressive because he has been focusing on defense, and then he is delivering assists.
Like the outbreak of Washington in the first half, it is inseparable from Irving's many passes, in the words of the commentator, the current Irving is like a different person, too mature, defensive, tandem, do not grab the ball, Alexander is not afraid at all, and repeatedly accurate cuts in the final quarter disrupted the opponent's offensive rhythm, and there are also highlight moments of steals and blocks, and actively spoke to encourage teammates after the game, which was unimaginable before.
In an interview after the game, Doncic first thanked Irving for his performance, saying: "Irving is incredible, I think he can do anything on the court, we should probably talk about his defense as well, it's great to have a player like him on our team and learn from him," which is easy to understand, Doncic thinks Irving is very well-rounded, and at the same time, Doncic is grateful to be a teammate with Irving.
Speaking about the win, Doncic said: "It was one of the toughest games I've ever played, I fought on the court and tried my best to help the team win, but I don't think we played hard enough, we relaxed at some point (the first half of the third quarter) and we need to do better, we need to play hard the whole game." ”
It can be seen that although he won, Doncic is not happy with the Mavericks' performance, and he believes that the G3 team needs to give it their all, which undoubtedly creates pressure on the Thunder. Finally, Irving was also interviewed after the game, and when talking about his only 8 shots, Irving had this to say: "I just feel like I'm showing my true self right now, great players are great because they are good on both ends of the floor, and in order to make an impact on the defensive end, you have to have good fitness, you have to have extra energy to be the best, to make the best players on the opponent uncomfortable, and I know that if I do well on both ends of the floor, then I will be able to make a bigger impact," I have to sigh that Owen is really terrifyingly mature now.