DALLAS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was shooting normally for three-quarters of the way for Oklahoma City. Most of his teammates didn't until it became the most important thing.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points and the Thunder beat the Mavericks' playoff record 13 blocks and won 100-96 on Monday night, tying the Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.
Chet Holmgren and Lou Dort made clutch 3-pointers late, and as Dallas players and coaches shouted double dribble calls, Jaylen Williams dunked for a 94-91 lead with 1:29 left. did.
Crew chief Zach Zarba confirmed in his pool report that officials were correct in not calling a double dribble on video, saying Williams did not have control of the ball until he grabbed it with both hands and began dribbling. Stated.
Both teams were separated by pairs on each other's home courts. Game 5 will be played Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
“We just stuck with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We just pulled away and got it through possession. And in the end the game tilted in our favor.”
The Mavericks' last chance to tie the game came with 10.1 seconds left, when Luka Doncic made two free throws with a two-point lead. However, the Dallas superstar missed his first shot, part of a dismal 12-of-23 from the Mavs' line. Oklahoma City was 24-23.
“We just have to work on our free throws,” Doncic said. “We shot 52%. That's not acceptable.”
Buoyed by their best defensive effort of the season, the Mavs led by 14 points early in the second half. However, their attack disappeared from there, and the Thunder gradually made a comeback.
Oklahoma City took the lead for the first time since early in the game on Holmgren's 3-pointer, taking an 89-86 lead with 3:24 left.
P.J. Washington Jr. again led Dallas with 21 points, and Doncic had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving scored in single digits for the second time in the series with nine points.
Dort's clutch 3s came from deep on a night where he went 3-of-10 shooting and finished with 17 points. Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds.
Dallas continued the defensive tone it had already set with Derek Lively II and Derrick Jones Jr. each getting four blocks and one each in the final seconds of the first half.
That defensive struggle got downright ugly in the third quarter, when the Thunder defeated Dallas 22-15, cutting the deficit to four points. This was the closest margin of victory since midway through the first quarter. Oklahoma City shot 33 percent from the third, compared to the Mavs' 25 percent.
Dallas didn't do much better in the fourth set, shooting 42% and just 1-of-5 from long distance, but the Thunder shot 34% through three quarters before finally getting a shot. I started.
While his teammates struggled, Gilgeous-Alexander, who did most of the shot-making alongside Holmgren, tied the game with a jumper for the Thunder with four minutes remaining.
“There's nothing comfortable about a playoff game,” Thunder manager Mark Daigneault said. “Just withstanding the early punches kept me from getting back into the match for a long time, but I think my ability to withstand it was huge. In the fourth, the shape of my attack changed.”
Washington, making its first postseason appearance as a defense-first trade deadline acquisition, has recorded 20 points or more and 12 rebounds in three consecutive games.
Doncic recorded his fifth career triple-double in the playoffs, but struggled to shoot again as he dealt with a sprained right knee and soreness in his left ankle.
The five-time All-Star was 6-of-20 overall and 2-of-9 from long range, but the eight-time All-Star hasn't made an impact offensively through the first four games.
The pair averaged just under 60 points per game in the regular season, but now have 37 points in the series. Irving isn't even the second-leading scorer. That's Washington.
“I think there's a lot of attention on us,” Doncic said. “With the two of us driving, it's almost five of us and the paint is crumbling. So I think that was difficult for us. We have to find open teammates.”
Oklahoma City took a three-point lead on Holmgren's two free throws in the final seconds, but Gilgeous-Alexander fouled Washington before the Mavs could try to tie the game at three.
Washington missed the first free throw, dropping Dallas to 11-of-22, and tried to miss the second, but it went in. Gilgeous-Alexander then made two more free throws to put the Mavs ahead.
“This is probably the most meaningful game of my career,” the Oklahoma City star said.
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