No. 1 in the Western Conference at the end of the NBA regular season then clear winner of New Orleans in the first round of the play-offs, the Oklahoma City Thunder successfully entered the conference semi-finals. Tuesday at home, “OKC” largely beat the Dallas Mavericks (117-95), fifth in the West and qualified against the Los Angeles Clippers.
After a balanced first quarter (23-23), Oklahoma City widened a gap at the break, leading 62-53. Then, in the middle of the third quarter, thanks to a three-point shot from Kyrie Irving, Dallas pulled back to one unit (66-65). But this was the wake-up call for the Thunder, who escaped for the rest of the match, inflicting a terrible 51-30 on the Texans. The Oklahoma franchise notably took advantage of opposing turnovers (16), scoring 22 points in these sequences.
29 points pour Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilegous-Alexander was Oklahoma City’s top scorer, with 29 points scored (8/19 shooting including 2/8 three-pointers), to which were added nine rebounds and nine assists. Chet Holmgren (19 pts) and Jalen Williams (18) also contributed to the Thunder’s victory. Ousmane Dieng played three minutes, for two points scored.
On the Dallas Mavericks side, Luka Doncic was limited to 20 points (6/19 including 1/8 three-pointers) and Kyrie Irving to 19 (7/14 including 3/4). Game 2 will be played Thursday, once again in Oklahoma City.
2024-05-08 04:19:35
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