In the Dallas Mavericks‘ 104-92 Game 5 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, Luka Doncic set his team on a path that could lead them to the Western Conference finals for the second time in three seasons. Doncic put up 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds on 12-for-22 shooting, and now the Mavericks can close out the best-of-seven series on Saturday when they host the Thunder for Game 6.
Doncic tied LeBron James for the second-most postseason 30-point triple-doubles by a player 25 or younger. He was aided by Derrick Jones Jr., who had a playoff career-high 19 points, along with P.J. Washington (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Kyrie Irving (12 points).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the top-seeded Thunder, but no other Oklahoma City player scored more than 13. Dallas held Oklahoma City to 42.5% shooting. The Thunder, one of the youngest teams in the league, now face elimination for the first time in this postseason.
“Our mood won’t change, our mentality won’t change,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s one game at a time. We wanted to win this game tonight as badly as we’re going to want to win the next game.”
The series shifts back to Dallas on Saturday for a pivotal Game 6. Here’s everything you need to know.
Thunder vs. Mavericks schedule, scores
All times Eastern | * If necessary
- Game 1: Thunder 117, Mavericks 95 — Oklahoma City leads 1-0
- Game 2: Mavericks 119, Thunder 110 — Series tied 1-1
- Game 3: Mavericks 105, Thunder 101 — Dallas leads 2-1
- Game 4: Thunder 100, Mavericks 96 — Series tied 2-2
- Game 5: Mavericks 104, Thunder 92 — Dallas lead 3-2
- Game 6: Saturday, May 18 — Thunder at Mavericks, 8:30, ESPN
- Game 7*: Monday, May 20 — Mavericks at Thunder, 8:30, TNT
Thunder vs. Mavericks, Game 6
Where to watch
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET | Date: Saturday, May 18
Location: American Airlines Center — Dallas
TV channel: ESPN | Streaming: ESPN/fubo, Max
Storylines
Thunder: Oklahoma City led the league in 3-point percentage during the regular season, but they’ve shot the ball from deep incredibly poorly in this series. In Game 5 they were generating great wide open looks and couldn’t hit anything. That cold streak started to end towards the end of the game, but the Mavericks had built up a big enough lead that it didn’t matter at that point. If the Thunder want to force a Game 7, they’ll need guys around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to knock down their open 3s otherwise a similar outcome to Game 5 could be on the horizon for the No. 1 seed.
Mavericks: Dallas got an MVP performance out of Luka Doncic for the first time in this series, and he appeared to be moving much better on both ends of the floor despite battling multiple injuries. He posted an efficient triple-double, and while PJ Washington didn’t go off, Derrick Jones Jr. carried the baton of shining role player. Kyrie Irving continues to be quiet in this series, and as OKC prepares to desperately extend their series, Dallas may need a more aggressive Irving if this game is tight in the closing minutes.
Prediction
Series odds entering Game 5: Mavs -179, Thunder +149
This feels eerily similar to Dallas’ first round series against the Clippers. It should’ve probably ended in five games had they taken care of business in Game 4, but here we are with a Game 6. And similarly to that Game 6 against L.A., I expect the Mavericks to play aggressive and play a disruptive brand of basketball to ensure they don’t have to play in a Game 7. Pick: Mavericks -3.5
