Monday looked like just another off night for Luka Doncic.
The Dallas Mavericks star reflected on his old self Wednesday night after a blowout loss in Game 4 of the series. He rarely argued with officials, which is a rare sight these days, and his knees didn't seem to bother him. Doncic recorded a 30-point triple-double to lead the Mavericks to a 104-92 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinal series at Paycom Center.
The win moves Dallas to 3-2 in the series after Doncic and the Mavericks missed a golden opportunity to nearly eliminate the conference's top seed in Game 4 of the series on Monday night. They are just one win away from reaching the Western Conference Finals for the second time in the past three seasons, bringing an early end to the Thunder's best season in nearly a decade.
“I [was] I’m just trying to play basketball, I’m just trying to focus on basketball,” Doncic said on TNT. “Sometimes I forget that this is what I love, this is what I'm doing. My mind's focus is just going out and playing basketball and putting a smile on my face and just going.” That was it.”
After a tough opening game, the Mavericks broke away in the second quarter. They started the period on a 16-5 run, nearly shutting down the Thunder's offense. They didn't make a field goal for almost four minutes. Doncic threw an outrageous full-court lob to Derek Lively during that stretch.
Despite trailing by 15 points at its peak, the Mavericks hung on late in the period and entered the locker room at intermission with a 10-point lead.
Dallas held a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter, despite only making two free throws in the first 36 minutes. Every time the Thunder started to close the lead, including after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's outrageous and-one late in the period, the Mavericks had the perfect answer.
Doncic and the Mavericks also ended the game almost immediately in the fourth quarter. A 10-4 run opened the period, forcing the Thunder to call a timeout less than three minutes into the period. Doncic also accounted for eight of those points, including a deep 3-pointer that suddenly cut the lead to 19 points.
The Thunder went on a 10-0 run midway through the quarter and threatened to give Dallas a victory, but it was too late. The Mavericks held on for a 12-point victory, but Chet Holmgren's 3-pointer from Derrick Jones Jr. and a huge slam in the final two minutes clinched the victory.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the loss. Holmgren had 13 points and four rebounds, and Jaylen Williams had 12 points and six rebounds. As a team, the Thunder are shooting just 25% from behind the basket, and this is the third time this postseason they have allowed over 100 points.
Doncic finished with 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on 12-of-22 field goals in Dallas' victory. This marked the third postseason 30-point triple-double in his career. Jones added 19 points while making 7 of 9 from the field, and Kyrie Irving finished with 12 points. PJ Washington, who has been dominating this series, finished with 10 points (all in the second half) and 10 rebounds.
Game 6 of the series is scheduled for Saturday night in Dallas.
