Dallas Mavericks – Oklahoma City Thunder : 117-116

Dallas wins the series 4-2

The Mavericks knew exactly why they brought in PJ Washington (but also Daniel Gafford) on the evening of the NBA trade deadline last February. They saw in him an ideal player to associate with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, a piece likely to take the Texan team to a new level. The 25-year-old winger proved them right in this series against the Thunder. Discreet in attack during the first 36 minutes of Game 6 played last night, the young man woke up at the best time to find his X factor costume. He scored 9 points in a fourth quarter full of twists and turns to finally lead Dallas to qualify.

Washington scored a three-pointer to tie the score and another to get back in front. But even that wasn’t enough since Oklahoma City still had a small point lead (115-116) before the final possession of the game. Doncic attacked the opposing defense with ball in hand. The Slovenian could have forced a two-point shot but he trusted his teammate who made numerous shots in the corner in this series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rushed to contest the Mavs player’s attempt. Except that the latter saw the Canadian launched towards him and he had the intelligence to fake the shot to push the superstar to take off from his supports. All this to provoke three free throws.

Doncic en triple-double

He scored the first two to give his team the last advantage of the evening. But he preferred to deliberately miss the third. In fact, there were only two seconds left on the clock and the Thunder no longer had any timeouts. Jalen Williams was able to try his luck from very, very far away. Without success. Dallas’ victory, synonymous with qualification for the Conference finals.

Kyrie Irving after Dallas qualified for the Western Conference final.

Credit: Getty Images

Doncic was able to jubilate. If his partner put in the last points, he did most of the work. He compiled a third triple-double in a row with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists (7 lost balls). Irving finished with 22 points after being limited in scoring in recent games. Derrick Jones Jr was again very valuable by scoring 22 points. Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points and 8 assists for the Thunder.

Three years later, Dallas returns

Jason Kidd’s players have come a long way. They were led by 17 points at the start of the game and by another 16 points (48-64) at the break. They came back gradually in the second period, once again dominating in rebounds (47 to 31) and showing skill behind the arc. Until this very competitive fourth quarter where the two teams went blow for blow. OKC may have paid for its inexperience.

This is the second time in three years that the Mavericks have reached the final round in the West. They lost against the future champion Golden State in 2022. This time they will play the winner of the series between Minnesota and Denver. Regardless of the opponent, Doncic is now much better surrounded than two years ago.

2024-05-19 07:12:34
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