The Mavericks challenged the Thunder in the semifinals
The Mavericks continue to sit at home and face the Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. OKC's regular season record ranked No. 1 in the West, and it can be described as full of impact and immediate combat power. Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and PJ Washington continued to play highlights in this round of the series, and how to limit the above three has become the primary problem that the Thunder need to solve. It will also be interesting to see if Alexander, Jalen Williams and Holmgren can bounce back on the road. The battle of wits between the new best coach Daigneault and the old Jason Kidd is also full of highlights. The two strong teams continued to compete fiercely in this campaign.
Alexander 34+8+5, Thunder reverses the Mavericks! Doncic 3 doubles + 7 turnovers, Irving shot 4 of 11!
Full game review
At the beginning of the first quarter, Holmgren and Gafford each had a violent dunk, Doncic scored 4 points with free throws, and Keady scored a basket, but then suffered a strong cap from Jones. Jalen Williams hit a single shot, Doncic teamed up with Gafford to score another 7 points, Holmgren scored a mid-range shot, Jones scored 5 points from mid-to-long range, Washington scored from the outside, and the Mavericks went on a 22-8 run. Wiggins scored four points on consecutive free throws, Alexander scored six points alone, Green scored from the outside, and the Thunder went on a 10-3 run. Exumri made two outside shots, Wiggins scored on a jumper, and the Thunder trailed 20-30 at the end of the first quarter, and OKC made 0 of 6 three-pointers in a single quarter.
Doncic assists on Gafford for a dunk
In the second quarter, Jalen Williams scored 3 free throws, and Keady hit a long shot, but then was capped by the opponent in a row. Doncic hit a single shot, Hardaway and Washington continued to exert their strength on the outside, the Thunder felt cold on the outside, Holmgren and Dort teamed up with Jalen Williams to hit the basket to chase points, and Irving assisted Gafford in a row, Lively, and Washington dunked in a row.
Alexander and Dort made a mid-range attack, Irving hit a single, Alexander scored on a high jumper, and Washington and Doncic scored from the outside. At halftime, the Mavericks led 54-43.
Jones defends Alexander
In the first half, the Mavericks worked hard at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, hitting consecutive outside shots while also sending big hats one after another. Irving had 4 points and 7 assists, Doncic had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Jones had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 3 blocks, Washington had 11 points and 4 rebounds, Gafford had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks, Lively had 2 points, 2 assists and 4 blocks, Hardaway had 3 points and 2 rebounds, Josh Green had 3 points and Exum had 5 points. The Thunder felt cold from the outside, Alexander had 12 points and 3 rebounds, Dort had 6 points and 4 rebounds, Jalen Williams had 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, Holmgren had 7 points, Keady had 5 points, 1 assist and 1 steal, and Wiggins had 6 points and 1 rebound.
In the rematch, Isaiah Joe replaced Keady as the starter, Dort blocked Gafford, Gafford missed a dunk, and Washington scored from the outside. The Mavericks led by 14 points, Alexander scored four points on consecutive free throws, Gafford made 1 of 2 free throws, Dort scored from the outside, and Jones scored on a throw, but then missed 2 free throws. Holmgren hit two free throws, Lively was blocked, Irving made 1 of two free throws and Alexander scored on a throw. Jalen Williams was blocked, and Washington made 1 of 2 free throws.
Alexander defends Washington
Lively blocked Jalen Williams, Washington scored with a throw, and the Thunder called a timeout. Holmgren dunked in the air, Washington hit a long shot and returned the color, Alexander threw in to score points, Doncic missed, and Jalen Williams was blocked again. Alexander scored on a jumper, Doncic missed from the outside, Irving scored on a layup, Alexander scored on a jumper, and Wallace hit a three-pointer. At the end of the third quarter, the Mavericks led 69-65, the Thunder led 22-15 in the single quarter, Alexander contributed 12 points in the quarter, and Washington scored nine.
In the final quarter, Doncic threw and scored, Jones hated Jalen Williams, and Doncic assisted Jones for a dunk. Dort scored 5 points with free throws, Doncic contributed 3 points and colored, Lively dunked to make it 2+0, Jones hit 2 free throws, and Dort committed his fourth foul. Wallace scored from the outside, Irving scored from the middle, Wiggins and Dort hit iron from the outside in a row, Jaylin Williams fought for frontcourt rebounds many times, and the Thunder challenged the free throw. Jalen Williams hit 2+1, and the difference came to 4 points again.
Jalen Williams dunked
Jones and Alexander each scored points under the impact basket, Doncic assisted Gafford to score in the low post, Alexander scored in the middle of the shot, Jones did not score from the outside, Jalen Williams missed the single, Jaylin Williams grabbed the rebound in the frontcourt, Alexander scored on a jumper, the Thunder only trailed by 2 points, and Kidd asked for a timeout. Doncic missed a long-range shot, Alexander scored a negative angle throw, and OKC tied the score.
Irving couldn't throw, Alexander assisted Holmgren to hit a long shot, and the Thunder completed the comeback, and the game entered a white-hot stage. Doncic assisted on Lively's dunk, Dort and Hardaway hit a three-pointer, and Jalen Williams dunked strongly. Alexander steals, Jalen Williams counters and scores on a layup with just 67 seconds left to make the Mavericks trail by five points and Kidd calls a timeout.
Alexander against P.J. Washington
Lively made 1 of 2 free throws, Jalen Williams missed from the outside, and Jones caught a dunk in the air. Alexander missed a single shot, Washington grabbed the rebound, and Kidd called a timeout again. Doncic was fouled on a basket and then made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Thunder called a timeout. Holmgren made 2 free throws, Washington made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Thunder called a timeout again. Alexander hit 2 free throws, Doncic couldn't make a long shot, and the game ran out. In the end, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Mavericks 100-96 and staged a 14-point comeback. The battle between the two sides will be played at the home of OKC.
Jones scored 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 blocks to perform all-around on both offensive and defensive ends, Washington contributed 21 points, 12 rebounds and 1 block double-double, Gafford 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 hats, Lively 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks, Hardaway 6 points and 3 rebounds, Josh Green 3 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Exum 5 points.
Thunder reversal of the Mavericks
Dort had 17 points and 8 rebounds and 8 points in the final quarter, Jalen Williams had 14 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals on 5-of-19 shooting, showing all-round skills, and 7 points in the final quarter became the hero of the victory, Holmgren 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks on both offensive and defensive ends, Keady had 5 points and 2 assists, Wallace had 6 points, and Wiggins had 6 points.
Alexander 34+8+5
Alexander, the superstar of the Thunder team, went on a strong rampage in this game. Alexander played 42 minutes, shooting 14-of-27, 0-of-1 from three-point range, 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, and finished with 35 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and had no turnovers. Alexander shot a game-high 52 percent from the field, and his rebounds, assists, steals and blocks were the second-highest on the team.
Alexander hits the inside
Alexander scored 22 points in the second half (12 in the third quarter and 10 in the final quarter) and led the team to dominate the game. In the decisive moment, Alexander scored three mid-range points and assisted Holmgren to hit a long-range shot to overtake the score, helping the Thunder turn the game around. Alexander exploded in all directions, helping the Thunder complete the feat of 14-point reversal.
Doncic 3 doubles + 7 turnovers
Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic showed his all-around skills in this game. Doncic played 42 minutes, shooting 6-of-20, 2-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line, and had a triple-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Doncic scored the second-highest points on the team and was the rebounding and assist leader of the game. Doncic, who was faced with tight defense and super physical confrontation, only shot 30% from the field in this game.
Dort defends Doncic
At the same time, Doncic also had a game-high seven turnovers and made only one of the two free throws that could have equalized the score in the final moments, changing the trend of the game. Doncic missed a free throw in the decisive moment, and the balance of victory tipped in his opponent's favor.
Irving made 4 of 11 shots
The Mavericks' backcourt giant, Kyrie Irving, did not play well in this game. Irving played 40 minutes, shooting just 4-of-11, 0-of-2 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, finishing with nine points, one rebound and nine assists, and committing a game-high five fouls. Irving shot just 36 percent from the field and didn't score anything from three-point range.
Jalen Williams defends Irving
In addition, Irving only scored 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting in the final quarter. As the league's top scorer, Irving was completely lost on the offensive end.