Everything started off close between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. Jason Kidd against Mark Daigneault was the matchup of the night as both squads started to exchange blows. Then, Luka Doncic started to heat up in the second quarter. There was not much that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's squad could do to prevent that scoring outburst. All they could wish for was a run that would rival that of their NBA Playoffs opponent but it just never came.
Mavericks pick them apart
The failure to contain Luka Doncic and falling for Jason Kidd's schemes were the main reason for this Thunder loss. Now, their season is on the line in the next game due to this. Clearly, it was not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's fault that his squad got mopped with a 104 to 92 scoreline. The Thunder's star guard played a game-high 43 minutes before Mark Daigneualt eventually waved the white flag. He knocked down 12 out of his 22 field goal attempts and even went 50% from deep to notch 30 points.
Other members of the Thunder also showed up in this tough NBA Playoffs loss. The trio of Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Lu Dort all combined for 37 points. While this is decent, it was not much help to the Thunder given that all of them underperformed to their averages. Holmgren usually scores 16.5 points while Williams averages 19.1 points a night. Only Dort could be exempted because he plays a heftier role on defense but he could not do well on that end either.
Lu Dort was supposed to be the Swiss Army knife that the Thunder pulled whenever they were faced with a tough scorer and facilitator at point guard. That was not the case for this NBA Playoffs loss. Luka Doncic exploded and no one from the Thunder could stop him. The Mavericks' superstar went ballistic by going 12 for 22 on his field goal attempts and sinking five out of his 11 three-pointers to notch 31 points.
An odd call for the Thunder
More failure came in when the Mavericks were just breaking down the Thunder's defense. Luka Doncic got everyone involved due to his insane passing acumen. The superstar guard finished with 11 assists. While that impact might look small, it helped a total of six Mavericks notch nine points or higher in this matchup. Lu Dort or anyone getting switched on to Doncic was not just getting smoked, other players were also burying the Thunder alive because of them.
However, this was not the biggest head-scratching outcome from this NBA Playoffs game. It was when Mark Daigneault called for Cason Wallace to play 27 minutes in this matchup. He played 27 minutes and just netted three points for the Thunder. It was not because he was also getting limited touches too. They just were not going in. Wallace only scored one field goal amid having seven attempts with five of them being three-pointers. He did sink a three but that was the most he had to contribute to this game alongside two assists.
The call was made because Isaiah Joe was also two of eight from the field. But, it was more damaging rather than anything. Hopefully, they can switch things up.
