Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Leads Comeback, Knots Series at 2-2

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander netted 34 points as the Thunder defeated the Mavericks, who set a franchise playoff-best with 13 blocks, coming back to win 100-96 on Monday evening to tie up their Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER IN A DO OR DIE GAME

34 POINTS
8 REBOUNDS
5 ASSISTS
2 STEALS
2 BLOCKS
53 FG%

24 in the 2nd HALF. SUPERSTAR ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/B5RaMC4gUG

— TF (@ThunderFocus) May 14, 2024

Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort made crucial 3-pointers in the final minutes, while Jalen Williams scored a dunk to give Dallas a 94-91 lead with 1:29 left. Players and coaches from Dallas loudly called for a double-dribble violation.

Zack Zarba, who is the crew chief, stated in a pool report that the video footage confirmed the officials’ decision not to call the double dribble. He explained that according to the video, Williams did not have possession of the ball before he grabbed it with both hands and began dribbling.

The teams both won one game when playing on each other’s home court. Wednesday night in Oklahoma City is when Game 5 will take place.
“We simply persevered,” stated Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. We persevered, approaching it one possession at a time. And eventually, things started to go in our favor during the game.

PUT SOME RESPECT ON HIS FUCKING NAME, SHAI GILGEOUS ALEXANDER pic.twitter.com/nn2RDL4GFX

— Russ’ TD ⚡ (@RussFcb) May 14, 2024

The Mavericks had one more opportunity to even the score with 10.1 seconds remaining, as Luka Doncic was at the free-throw line while they were down by two points. However, the Dallas star failed to make the first shot, contributing to a poor 12-for-23 free-throw performance by the Mavericks. Oklahoma City had a success rate of 23 out of 24.

Doncic mentioned that we need to focus on improving our free throws. We hit 52% of our shots. That is not acceptable. Supported by a strong defensive showing, the Mavs had a 14-point lead at the beginning of the second half. However, their offensive game faded away, and the Thunder began to make a gradual comeback.

Holmgren’s 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City the lead, which they held onto for the rest of the game, with 3:24 left on the clock. Dallas was once again led in scoring by P.J. Washington Jr. with 21 points, while Doncic contributed 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving scored only nine points for the second time in the series.

Dort scored a crucial 3-pointer despite only making 3 out of 10 attempts from beyond the arc, ending the game with 17 points. Holmgren earned 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Both Dereck Lively II and Derrick Jones Jr. had four blocks each for Dallas, with each player getting one during the final moments of the first half to maintain the defensive momentum that was already established.

The defensive battle became exceptionally unpleasant in the third period as the Thunder outscored Dallas 22-15 to reduce their disadvantage to just four points, their closest margin since the middle of the first quarter. The Thunder shot 33% in the third quarter, compared to the Mavericks’ 25%. Dallas did not show much improvement in the fourth quarter, only making 42% of their shots and going 1 for 5 from beyond the arc, while the Thunder began to see their shots fall in after shooting 34% in the first three quarters.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with Holmgren, handled most of the scoring as their teammates had difficulty, and tied the game for the Thunder with a jump shot with four minutes left.

“The playoff games are not comfortable at all,” stated Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. I believed our capacity to withstand the initial setbacks without being able to recover quickly was crucial in the game. In the fourth quarter, the offense shifted in our favor.”

Oklahoma City was up by three points when Holmgren made two free throws in the last moments. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fouled Washington to prevent the Mavs from trying a game-tying 3-pointer.
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Washington failed to make the initial free throw which resulted in Dallas having only 11 successful attempts out of 22. There was an attempt to intentionally miss the second shot, but it unexpectedly went in. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sealed the win against the Mavs by sinking two additional free throws.
The star from Oklahoma City stated that this is likely the most significant game played during their career.