DALLAS — With a chance to take a 2-1 series lead to the winner of the Western Conference semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks held on to their home court at American Airlines Center and held on for a hard-fought 105-10 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. I won with 101.
The Thunder continued to start Josh Guidy despite struggling with him on the court in the series. Dallas began shaking him off on the perimeter and crowding the paint, making it even more difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander to attack the paint with an advantage.
From the first tip-off, the Mavericks got off to a strong start, again focusing on feeding Washington the ball just like in Game 2. Despite Luguentz Dort's aggressive on-ball defense, Doncic often attacked, including making mid-range shots. He got into the gap off a range jumper, a subsequent pick-and-roll, and drew a foul on a 3-point attempt. He made two attempts to extend Dallas' advantage to 13-5 after the Thunder missed a foul call on Doncic on a 3-point shot.
P.J. Washington, who had a 29-point performance in Game 2, got off to a strong start in this game as well, scoring 11 points in the opening half with a catch-and-shoot 3-point shot from a pass from Irving. He cleans up Lively's misfinish for a putback.
Irving scored aggressively on several plays, including using a jab step from a triple three, which led to a successful jumper to put Dallas up 24-15. Doncic returned to the floor shortly after, but Oklahoma City made a change by ejecting Guidi, taking Irving off the floor and focusing on blitzing the Slovenian superstar.
In the first half, with Joe on the court in place of Guidi, there was a clear difference in the Thunder's attacking style. Joe is rewarding the Mavericks for showing strong side help against Gilgeous-Alexander. Running a stacked pick-and-roll with Joe as the back screener, the Thunder tied it again with Jaylen Williams finding Dort on a cut. Oklahoma City led 34-31 with 8:40 left in the half.
After missing his first three shots and going 2-10 from the floor entering Game 2, Lively took a pocket pass from Irving and sank a huge dunk to put Dallas up 36 midway through the second period. He led with 34.
After being left open on a strong side corner early in the possession, Cason Wallace made a corner 3-pointer to put the Thunder up by five points with 4:31 left before intermission. Washington hit a corner 3-pointer to reach 19 points, but the Mavericks committed a shot clock violation on the next play between Guidi and Dort.
Irving then hit a mid-range jumper, followed by an and-one sequence by Doncic to give the Mavericks a 48-45 lead. Both teams were short on points and the game was close in the final stages. Doncic hit a step-back 3-pointer against Dort before the end of the first half, but Joe countered with a quick catch-and-shoot from deep, giving Oklahoma City a 52-51 lead and the back-and-forth trend continued.
Dallas came out of halftime and used Jones as a back screener in a stacked pick-and-roll, opening up the half court by setting Doncic's lob to Gafford for a dunk. The Mavericks did it again, but as the Thunder stuffed the paint, Washington got the loose ball and drove to a floater with Holmgren patrolling the lane, causing a miss.
A key element of the Mavericks' defensive strategy was to downplay Guidi as a threat between the floors. He made a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer against Gafford on one possession, and then he pitched a shutout to put the Thunder up 61-55.
The Mavericks continued to struggle in the paint, with Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander applying pressure on drives and Doncic reversing the game on drives. He felt there was a foul and Oklahoma City had the numerical advantage in transition, setting up an alley-oop and taking a 10-point lead.
Before the Mavericks tightened their defense, offensive possessions remained empty, leading to scoring chances for the Thunder and leaving the impression that the game would slide if the approach didn't change.Gilgeous-Alexander hit a short-range jumper.
A series of defensive stops by the Mavericks created favorable transition opportunities and propelled an 8-0 run that sent Dallas leading 65-63 into a timeout. On the first play, Doncic made a throw-ahead pass to Lively, who skipped it to Washington in the corner for a 3-point shot. Green then went 2-on-1, ending with a lob to Washington, increasing his total to 24 points.
Green completed a shutout with a pass to Washington, then hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to give the Mavericks the lead. Dallas missed a 3-pointer on its next offensive line, then got a flurry of offensive rebounds, then Doncic hit a floater after a fake turnaround jumper against Dort.
Washington hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night to put the Mavericks up 71-65, but the Thunder answered with a 5-0 run to keep the game within one possession. But Irving converted from the perimeter after Williams went to the floor with what appeared to be an ankle injury. He stabilized the game as the only superstar on the court for Dallas, then accepted a double team from Zoom action before Gafford took a small shot for a dunk and another from beyond the arc. .
Dallas managed to maintain the lead without Doncic on the floor, building an 82-78 lead into the fourth quarter after Hardaway hit a jumper from long range before the end of the period. Hardaway managed to hit a floater to start the final period and made another timely offensive play.
Irving put on a complete clinic on short-range creation, with a very impressive sequence that included three consecutive short-range jumpers. Hardaway then found Lively for a huge dunk. The Mavericks went up 92-83, but continuing the theme of the game, the Thunder fought back.
With the score tied at 94-90 midway through the fourth quarter, Williams, with the Mavericks on the bonus, intentionally fouled Lively to send him to the free-throw line. The rookie center split two free throws. Lively was fouled again on the next possession and missed both free throws.
Doncic posted Dort up and Washington was open at the weakside corner, but missed the jumper and went out of the rim again. Dort committed his fifth foul, sending Doncic to the free-throw line before splitting two shots, increasing the Mavericks' lead to 96-92 with 4:02 left.
Oklahoma City tried to create an advantage by reversing Gilgeous-Alexander screens, had his man Cason Wallace come in, and tried to corner Doncic in clutch time, but it didn't work. Lively was sent to the free throw line again, this time making both shots, cementing Dallas' 98-92 advantage.
Both teams made successive plays in clutch time, and the game remained close until it was decided. Joe's quick-trigger 3-pointer made the game a single possession, and the Thunder again faced the Thunder before intentionally sending Lively to the free-throw line. He made two free throws again. When Irving made a pass against a double team and caused a turnover, Doncic stole the pass almost immediately and finished against Holmgren. Doncic then tied the ball on defense and forced in a jump ball for the win.
After Gilgeous-Alexander got to the free-throw line and made two shots to make it a single-possession game, Irving calmed the game down for the Mavericks before sinking a floater to give Dallas a five-point lead again. Oklahoma City tried to recover, but was unable to tie the score or take the lead for the rest of regulation.
Dort fouled out with 7.2 seconds left, sending Doncic to the line. Doncic split the trip to the line, but his one free throw was enough for a four-point lead and the win.
The series resumes Monday with Game 4 at American Airlines Center.
