Luka Doncic finished with 31 points and delivered his second consecutive triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks moved one victory from their second Western Conference final in three seasons with a 104-92 victory Wednesday over the host Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of their second-round series.
Doncic, who has been playing with multiple injuries through the course of the playoffs, also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists as Dallas took a 3-2 series lead. Derrick Jones Jr. scored 19 points and P.J. Washington had 10 points with 10 rebounds in the win.
Dereck Lively II added 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Kyrie Irving added 12 points as the Mavericks are set to return home for Game 6 on Saturday.
Dallas finished off Oklahoma City after they blew a 14-point, third-quarter lead and an eight-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining in a 100-96 defeat in Game 4 on Monday. The Mavericks are now 4-0 after a loss this postseason.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and Chet Holmgren added 13 as the top-seeded Thunder are now forced to win consecutive games in order to advance. Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort each scored 12 points for Oklahoma City, which never led after the first quarter.
The Mavericks pushed in front just over five minutes into the game and led 24-22 after the first quarter. Dallas led by as many as 15 points in the first half before settling for a 54-44 lead at the break after shooting 56.1 percent. Doncic had 17 points in the first two quarters on 7-of-11 shooting.
Gilgeous-Alexander kept Oklahoma City within striking distance by scoring 14 points in the third quarter, but his teammates were only able to contribute nine points — all from reserves — against a relentless Dallas defense.
The Mavericks took a 79-67 lead into the fourth quarter after the Thunder had briefly pulled within single digits.
Dallas again pulled ahead by 15 at 86-71 on a floater from Doncic with 10:11 remaining then grabbed their biggest lead of the game to that point at 89-71 on a long 3-pointer from Doncic with 9:31 left.
The Thunder then used a 10-0 run to pull within 89-81 on a driving layup from Williams. But Dallas got consecutive baskets from Washington for a 95-85 lead with 4:04 on the clock.
Neither team made a field goal for more than two minutes before Dallas went up 99-86 on a fast-break dunk from Jones with 2:01 to play.
Doncic helped to save the day on defense when he blocked Gilgeous-Alexander’s fast-break layup attempt with 55 seconds left.
–Field Level Media