After falling behind for a whole game, the Thunder team turned the tables in the last quarter, reversed the Mavericks to win the G4 matchup, and pulled the big score of the Western Conference semifinals to a 2-2 draw, Alexander scored 34 points with 0 mistakes in the whole game, but the overall shooting rate of the Thunder team was still only 38%, the reason why he was able to win in such a low shooting rate, Alexander needs to thank the Mavericks core Eastern European combination: Doncic 20 in 6, Irving 11 in 4, a total of 31 in 10, in the most important moment of the final quarter, the fairy Irving became a blacksmith, Doncic also missed a key free throw.
In terms of trend, before this game, the Mavericks had a better momentum, after losing the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, the Mavericks ended the Thunder's 10-game winning streak in the regular season + playoffs in the second game, and then won the third matchup to overtake 2-1 in the big score. In this game, the Mavericks are also in a good situation, Irving handed out 7 assists in the first half, focusing on helping his teammates, Doncic scored 12 points in the middle of the half, plus Washington and Gafford also contributed accordingly, the Mavericks led by double digits.
However, the Mavericks still left hidden dangers, and the lead in the first half was not how well the Mavericks played, but that the Thunder's offense was too poor. This is a big suspense in the second half! In addition, Irving's focus on assists will allow him to quickly warm up his hand when it comes to scoring in key moments? These are the hidden dangers of the Mavericks, and they are also the hope of the Thunder to complete the comeback in the second half.
From the second half of the third quarter, the Thunder began to chase points, and the Mavericks were sluggish on the offensive end, and it was very difficult to score! The Thunder chased 65-69 and laid the foundation for a comeback in the final quarter. In the last quarter, Alexander's various mid-range drift shots kept putting pressure on the Mavericks, and what the Mavericks needed at this time was for the two core Irving and Doncic to stand up and score, not assist, but Irving still had no crosshairs on the offensive end, and the same was true for Doncic, and the Mavericks could only bite the score through the scores of Washington and Jones.
After being overtaken by the Thunder, the Mavericks had a chance to equalize with 10.1 seconds left before the end, but Doncic missed a key free throw! After the game, it was widely believed that this was the direct reason why the Mavericks lost Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.