DALLAS — Despite leading by 14 points, the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, squandering a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. did. As a result of the 100-96 loss, the Mavs tied the series 2-2 and will travel to Paycom Center for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Ultimately, the Mavericks suffered from poor free throw shooting, going 12-23 (52.5%) on the night compared to the Thunder's impressive 23-24 (95.8%). That proved crucial in a close game.
Irving was aggressive from the start, running a side ball screen from Gafford that he found with a timely pass and an easy finish. The Thunder used their first timeout of the night as Doncic looked for opportunities and his step-back 3-pointer extended the Mavericks' lead to 14-6 midway through the period.
Although there was some anxiety at first, the Mavericks settled into the game with a high level of defense. As expected, it was clear that Dallas was focused on continuing to downplay Josh Guidy as a shooter, given that doing so with “weaker” shooters was the cornerstone of their approach. But some truly dynamic plays helped propel Dallas forward, including Derrick Jones Jr.'s transition chase down block.
The Mavericks continued their strong performance on defense, creating separation by stepping up their perimeter shooting. First, Doncic ran past Gilgeous-Alexander in the corner for a Washington 3-pointer, received a short roll pass, and Jones got a wide-open look after Irving returned the pass. Dallas won 22-8.
The Thunder ran a small-ball lineup with Jaylin Williams at the five and Isaiah Joe on the floor in place of Guidi. Oklahoma City went on a 6-0 run that briefly cut the Mavericks' advantage to single digits, with Irving playing off the blitz and converting Josh Green's open corner 3-pointer. Dante Exum, who has struggled throughout the postseason, pushed Dallas to a 30-18 advantage with a 5-0 individual performance, before Aaron Wiggins hit a floater to make it 30-20.
Doncic was the only Mavericks superstar on the court at the start of the second quarter, and the Thunder mounted a counterattack effort to briefly make it a six-point game. Doncic pushed the defense into the paint and made a flashy pass to Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Mavericks held the lead until midway through the second quarter despite Doncic and Irving shooting a combined 3-12 from the floor. Despite the Mavericks' frequent defensive stops, Irving continued to make great passes to his teammates that led to finishes. Dallas regained the double-digit advantage after Irving found Washington in transition for a dunk, creating a goaltending call.
Whether it was attacking downhill before Gilgeous-Alexander pulled up or shooters coming off the line, the Thunder really struggled to produce anything other than short-range jump shots for long periods of time. Irving made his first 3-pointer late in the second quarter, giving the Mavericks a 10-point lead before Gilgeous-Alexander made a short-range jumper. But after Irving blitzed, Doncic received the ball on the weak side and attacked Dort's aggressive on-ball defense with a step-back 3-pointer. After each superstar hit a jumper, Dallas went into intermission with a 54-43 lead.
In the first half, Oklahoma City shot just 15-for-43 (34.9%) overall and 1-for-11 from beyond the arc (9.1%). The Mavericks had an incredible nine blocks in the first half, with Lively (four blocks), Jones (three blocks) and Gafford (two blocks) each recording multiple blocks. Doncic added two stolen bases.
After halftime, the Thunder started Joe in place of Guidi. The goal was to increase the number of shots on the court, but Oklahoma City lacked enough space in the half court, often leaving perimeter players just wandering in the paint instead of cutting through. Instead of freeing up space that wasn't a factor, or Holmgren crowding the dunker spot. It was too easy for Dallas to have Gilgeous-Alexander move into the second and third moves and try to land contested short-range jumpers and floaters.
It wasn't until midway through the third quarter that Oklahoma City began to properly space itself in the halfcourt, allowing Holmgren to easily finish Gilgeous-Alexander's lob. After holding Dallas to a 15-point lead in the third quarter, the Thunder led by four entering the final period. It was the Mavericks' least effective period offensively.
The Mavericks had Doncic and Irving on the court at the start of the fourth quarter, with Jones, Hardaway and Lively rounding out the unit. Doncic posted up Dort for a floater inside and Jones hit a high-flying alley-oop dunk to give Dallas the boost it needed to start the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder used Kenrich Williams next to Holmgren to provide size on the floor. Dort hit a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game, but Doncic countered with a short-range stepback. After a number of empty possessions by Oklahoma City, Doncic got to the free throw line and split, putting the Mavericks back up to a six-point lead.
Lively was ejected after fighting for a rebound, and Holmgren made a 3-point shot as a transition trailer, but Lively countered the contact with a powerful dunk for an and-one, but missed the free throw. . Oklahoma City couldn't avoid fouling frequently.
Dallas allowed Wallace a transition 3-pointer, but Irving countered with a baseline pull-up of his own. Although the Mavericks couldn't take the lead, they got some timely answers and held the advantage for much of the fourth quarter.
Williams hit a downhill floater and-one against Irving to cut the Mavericks' lead to 82-78 with 6:33 left in the final period. However, with no rim protector on the court, the Thunder struggled to get stops against the Mavericks, with Jones attacking off the catch for a finish, followed by Gafford getting past Wallace for a goal. Ta. Holmgren returned to the court after this sequence and provided paint presence.
Gilgeous-Alexander continued to attack with a pull-up jumper from inside the 3-point line to tie the game at 86-86 with less than four minutes left in regulation in the fourth quarter.
The battle in clutch time between the two teams was fierce. As Doncic stumbled trying to jump a pass, Gilgeous-Alexander found Holmgren in the corner and made the go-ahead 3-pointer. Doncic responded by connecting with Lively for a lob off a pick-and-roll, but Dort hit a 3-pointer to put Oklahoma City up by four points. Hardaway responded with a shot fake from behind the 3-point line to make it a one-point game again. Williams attacked the baseline for a dunk, extending the Thunder's advantage to three points.
Dallas fell behind 94-91 and had the ball with 1 minute and 17 seconds left in regulation time, but they were reversed and allowed to escape. This proved to be a game-killing play, putting Dallas up by five points with just over a minute left. Lively made two free throws to make it a single-possession game, giving Oklahoma City a four-point lead with a minute left.
A lob from Doncic to Jones made it a two-point lead, but Gilgeous-Alexander hit a short-range stepback jumper off the rim. Dallas was down by two points with 12.3 seconds left. Doncic drove into the paint and took a hard fall, but drew a foul in the process before splitting the free throw. Although they had a chance to tie the game, the Mavericks fell behind by one point.
After fouling Holmgren, he made two free throws to give the Thunder a 98-95 lead with 9.4 seconds left. Oklahoma City fouled Washington on a short roll catch before the Mavericks went for a 3-point shot. He split both free throws, positioning the Thunder to properly execute their own free throws and end the game, which the Thunder were able to do.
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