On May 12, 2024, Beijing time, in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs, the Mavericks ushered in the G3 battle with the Thunder at home, and the two sides drew 1-1 in the first two games. Mavericks starters: Doncic + Irving + Jones + Washington + Gafford starters, Thunder starters: Alexander + Giddey + Dort + Jalen + Chet.
In the first quarter of the game, Washington dunked, Gafford made a layup, Chet dunked, Dort responded with three points, Thunder 5-4, Doncic, Jones, Washington played 9-0, the Mavericks overtook 8 points, Alexander, Giddey chased the difference to 4 points, Washington scored 5 points in a row, Jalen and Alexander made 4 free throws, the difference was 5 points, Irving expanded the difference to 9 points, Alexander chased the difference to 4 points, Doncic made 2 free throws and 2 hits, Isaiah Joe scored three points, and the Mavericks led 26-23 in the first quarter. Washington had 11 points and one board on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter, while Alexander had nine points, two rebounds and two assists on 3-of-4 shooting.
In the second quarter of the game, Washington scored three points, the Mavericks led by 6 points, Isaiah Joe and Jalen tied the difference, Doncic threw it, Dort, Jaylen overtook 3 points, Hardaway and Lively overtook 2 points, Wiggins, Alexander, Wallace overtook 5 points, Washington and Irving tied the difference, Alexander shot, Irving and Doncic scored 5 points in a row, Mavericks overtook 3 points, Chet and Alexander overtook 1 point, Doncic scored 3 points, Isaiah Joe responded with three points, and the Thunder led 52-51 at halftime.
Alexander had 17 points, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks on 6-of-10 shooting in the half, Isaiah Joe had 10 points and 1 board on 4-of-4 (2-of-2 three-pointers), Chet had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 4 blocks, setting a record for half-court blocks for a rookie in the past 25 years, the Mavericks had 19 points and 2 boards on 8-of-13 (3-of-6 three-pointers), Doncic had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists on 4-of-11 shooting, and Irving had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists on 4-of-7 shooting.
In the third quarter of the game, Gafford dunked 2 times in a row, Jalen scored 4 points in a row, Giddey scored 5 points in a row, the Thunder overtook 6 points, the Mavericks couldn't score when they came back from a timeout, Alexander and Jalen scored 5 points in a row, the Thunder led by 10 points, Levery made 3 of 4 free throws, Washington scored 5 points in a row, the difference was 2 points, the Thunder couldn't score after a timeout, Green, Doncic, and Washington scored 8 points in a row, the Mavericks overtook 6 points, Wiggins and Dort chased the difference to 1 point after a timeout, Irving scored three points, Jalen returned to the locker room with an ankle injury, Alexander scored consecutive points, Gafford and Irving responded, the difference was 5 points, Wiggins and Alexander chased the difference to 1 point, Hardaway scored 3 points, and the Mavericks led 82-78 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter of the game, Hardaway made a layup, the Mavericks led by 6 points, Jalen played, his ankle injury had little impact, Chet scored 5 points in a row, Irving scored 6 points in a row, Lively received in the air, the Mavericks led by 9 points, Jalen and Alexander chased the difference to 3 points, Doncic made a layup, Alexander made 1 of 2 free throws, the Thunder sacrificed the tactic of slashing Lively, Lively made 1 of 4 free throws, Chet scored on the frontcourt board, the difference was 3 points, Doncic, Lively made 3 of 4 free throws, the difference was 6 points, Isaiah Joe scored three points, the Thunder continued to cut Lively, and Lively made 2 of 2 free throws, the difference was 5 points, Jalen and Alexander scored, Doncic and Irving responded, the difference was still 5 points, with 39 seconds left in the game, Doncic missed, Chet made 2 free throws and 2 hits, Doncic made 1 of 2 free throws, Jalen missed three points, the game ended, and the Mavericks beat the Thunder 105-101.
Doncic had 22 points, 15 boards and 5 assists on 7-of-17 shooting, Irving had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists on 10-of-17 shooting, Washington had 27 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 11-of-23 shooting (5-of-12 three-pointers), scoring 25+ points in two consecutive games in the playoffs, Lively had 12 points and 8 boards, and Gafford had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Alexander had 31 points, 10 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks on 10-of-23 shooting, setting a playoff career record for blocks, Jalen had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists on 7-of-12 shooting, Chet had 13 points, 8 boards, 3 assists and 4 blocks on 5-of-9 shooting, Isaiah Joe had 13 points and 1 board, and Giddey had 9 points and 2 boards.
The Mavericks, who beat the Thunder in two straight games after losing by 22 points in G1, have found a way to deal with the Thunder, and the Mavericks are currently leading 2-1 in the series, which has changed dramatically.