On May 12, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and the Mavericks played against the Thunder at home in the Western Conference semifinals. The two teams drew 1-1 in the first two games, and this time the Mavericks returned to their home court to continue the momentum, but the Thunder played well, leading by 1 point in the first half, and once established a 10-point lead in the second half, but then the Mavericks launched a wave of 16-0 offensive overtake, and then the Mavericks maintained the lead. In the end, the Mavericks narrowly defeated the Thunder 105-101 and led 2-1.
In this game, the two teams continued to start before, without making any adjustments, and the two teams fell into a tug-of-war, and the score difference was not opened, and the score was alternately leading, and the Thunder was not suppressed on the road, and took the lead at halftime. In the second half, the Thunder once opened up the point difference, but unfortunately suddenly dumb fire, the Mavericks seized the opportunity, and Irving stood up again in the final quarter, scoring consecutive points at critical moments to help the team successfully win the victory.
Washington's performance this time is still strong, and it was his excellent performance in the last game that allowed the team to win the game, but I didn't expect him to be in excellent form this time. Playing 40 minutes, he shot 11-of-23 from the field and 5-of-12 from three-point range, scoring a team-high 27 points, plus 6 rebounds and 2 assists, which directly transformed him into the team's third big man. It's fair to say that Washington's outburst allowed the Mavericks to take the initiative, while the Thunder lacked that scoring point.
Doncic's side continues to play with injuries, which is also quite admirable, and it is really hard. Although the offensive touch was not very good, he still helped the team in his own way, scoring 22 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in the game. And this time he also fell to the ground many times, and he was already injured, which also made the home fans very worried, and he also admitted frankly after the game: "It hurts everywhere, I just fight on the field." ”
Irving exploded again in the final quarter, scoring 8 points on 4-of-4 shooting, and sealed the win with a last-minute throw. Played 40 minutes in the game, made 10 of 17 shots, 2 of 6 three-pointers, got 22 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, and was able to stand up at critical moments. This time Irving also reached a career milestone, reaching 1,934 career points in the playoffs, surpassing many players (including Anthony) to reach 70th all-time.