On May 16, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs Thunder hosted the Mavericks, and the score between the two sides was 2-2 before the game. In terms of starting lineup, the Thunder changed the lineup, lined up Alexander + Isaiah Joe + Dott + Jalen Williams + Chet Holmgren, Keady came off the bench, and the Mavericks started unchanged, which was still Doncic + Irving + Jones + Washington + Gafford .
Doncic jumped to score first in the opening game, Chet and Joe hit three points in a row, Alexander jumped to the top, Jones and Irving on the Mavericks responded together, Jalenway jumped, Dort scored three points, the two sides played fiercely, Doncic stepped back from a pause and hit a three-point rush, Dort quickly dunked, Doncic made a foul, Hardy jumped, at this time the Mavericks led by 5 points, Alexander had no feeling, Keady threw in time to stop the bleeding, Dort hit the iron with three points, Doncic assisted Jones dunk, Dort three points still did not score, it was Jaelin's turn to stop the bleeding with three points, Gafford dunked with both hands, Alexander responded with a step-back jumper, Green didn't score a three-pointer, Hardaway Jr. didn't pull a three-pointer, Chet hit a three-pointer, and the Thunder only trailed by two points in the first quarter at 22-24.
Jones scored 10 points in the first quarter, the Mavericks began to exert their strength in the second quarter, Irving jumped to the jumper, Doncic assisted Lively in a row, Hardaway fired outside, Doncic picked up a basket, Irving pulled out three points and scored, although the Thunder was also scoring, but the Mavericks gradually opened up the difference, Chet scored continuously, Alexander scored a basket with his left hand, Jones responded with 5 points in a row, the difference was 12 points, Alexander stepped back and did not score three points, Gafford raged inside, Dort made a foul to stop the bleeding for the Thunder, Doncic scored three points in response, Alexander dunked with one arm, Then he hit a step-back jumper again, Doncic threw in response, Joe hit a three-point shot at the end of the quarter, Jalenway dunked Gaford, Green made a layup, Jalenway missed a three-point shot from a long distance, and the Thunder 44-54 Mavericks at halftime.
Halftime statistics, Doncic 17 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, Irving 7 points and 2 assists, Jones 15 points, Gafford 4 points and 6 boards, Washington 4 boards and 3 assists, Lively 4 points and 2 boards, Green 2 points and 2 boards, Hardaway 3 points. On the Thunder's side, Alexander had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Jalen Williams had 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, Holmgren had 7 points and 3 boards, Isaiah Joe had 6 points and 2 boards, Dort had 9 points, Keady had 5 points and 3 boards, and Jaylin Williams had 3 points.
Yibian fought again, Gafford threw at the beginning, Alexander hit a three-point shot, Irving went down to pick a basket, Alexander hit a layup again, Gafford ate cake, Washington split a dunk, it was still Alexander who responded with a layup, Washington scored three points, Doncic also hit a three-point, the difference was 15 points, Keady made a layup, Green fired outside, Alexander made a foul, Wallace fired outside, the Thunder chased 11 points, Gafford attacked a foul, Alexander missed a jumper, Irving scored three points to help the Mavericks stabilize the situation, Keady made a shot, Wiggins made a layup, Lively scored a dunk against Chet, Alexander 2+1, Doncic hit a three-point response, Wallace and Washington hit three points successively, and the third quarter ended with the Thunder 67-79 Mavericks.
At the beginning of the last quarter, Doncic suddenly broke out, 2+1, jump shot, three-point hit, personal cut 8 points in a row, helping the Mavericks instantly establish an 18-point lead, Alexander pulled out three points, the Thunder could only rely on him to score, Washington walked, Wallace missed three points, Chet dunked, Dort hit a three-point shot, Jalenway picked a basket, the difference was only 8 points, Gafford made one of two free throws, Chet dunked with one arm, Washington scored three points, the difference returned to double digits, the Thunder fought back tenaciously, but unfortunately time waits for no one, Dort's key three points were actually three untouched, Chet's three points were blocked by Jones, and then Doncic nailed Alexander, the game completely lost suspense, and finally the Mavericks defeated the Thunder 104-92.
After this battle, the trend of the playoffs changed dramatically, the Mavericks won Tianwang Mountain, and the big score was already 3-2 ahead, considering that G6 was carried out in Dallas, so the Mavericks had a high probability of ending the series, and there was indeed a gap in the strength of the two sides, the reason why the Thunder lost was because of the poor defense on the inside, the serious inaccuracy on the outside, and then the lack of playoff experience, basically as long as Doncic or Irving had a opening, the Thunder couldn't win, not only that, the only one who could score stably was Alexander, and he alone definitely couldn't, Both Chet and Jalenway are inconsistent.
In terms of data, Doncic scored 12 of 22, 5 of 11 three-pointers, and 2 of 3 free throws to score 31 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 block and 3 turnovers.
Don't forget that Doncic has been playing with injuries in this series, and if he is healthy, the Thunder will not be an opponent. Irving got 12 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in 5 of 11, focusing on defense in the first half, but Irving came at the right time every time he scored, I have to say that today's Irving is too mature, steady, and willing to sacrifice data to do dirty work, which was unimaginable before, but frankly speaking, there is still a problem with the Mavericks' tactics, and Irving should be allowed to attack more in the second half.
Washington had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, he didn't feel good in the first half, but he played well in the second half. Gafford had 9 points and 7 rebounds, and Jones scored 19 points to be a major contributor to the Mavericks' victory, including 3-of-5 three-pointers, and the defense was also meritorious. Lively had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block, Hardaway Jr. had 5 points, Green had 5 points and 2 rebounds, and Hardy had 2 points and 3 rebounds. The strength of the Mavericks should not be underestimated, and it turns out that the Clippers lost unjustly.
Thunder stats: Alexander scored 30 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 12 of 22, and scored 14 points in the third quarter, but he couldn't get back, Chet Holmgren 13 points and 4 rebounds, Jalen Williams 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, Dort 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Isaiah Joe 6 points and 3 rebounds, Keady 11 points and 3 rebounds, and Jaylin Williams 3 points. The Thunder can sweep the Pelicans in the first round, which can only show that the Pelicans are too weak, and in the second round against the Mavericks, the Thunder still exposed a lot of problems, in addition to Alexander, they urgently need a second stable scoring point, and then the inside line needs to be strengthened, the big score is 2-3 behind, and the Thunder is hanging, because most of the teams that lose Tianwang Mountain will be out.