Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Leads OKC Thunder to Blowout Victory Over Dallas Mavs in Game 1 of Series

The Dallas Mavericks opened their Western Conference semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 117-95 loss.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) stops / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Dallas Mavericks opened the Western Conference Semifinals with a 117-95 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The result occurred despite a tied score through the first quarter and even after the Mavericks trailed by only one point in the third quarter. Dallas now trails the Thunder 1-0 in the series.

Luka Doncic had a tough shooting night as he continues to power through a right knee sprain, recording 19 points on 6-19 shooting from the floor and going 1-8 from beyond the arc. It was his first postseason performance, scoring under 20 points after meeting the mark in 24 straight games.

"Who cares? We lost," Doncic said when asked about the factors involved in his off night. "Just gotta move onto the next one. I've gotta be better. We've gotta be better. We gotta focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) stops / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Kyrie Irving finished with only 20 points and three assists while entering halftime with only six. He had an efficient shooting night by going 7-14 from the floor and 3-4 from deep while making all three of his free throws, but he had four turnovers—all of which occurred in the fourth quarter.

There were a significant amount of advantages in the Thunder's favor in this game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone with 29 points, they shot 45.7% from deep with 16 makes, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, only turned it over nine times, and scored 22 points off the Mavericks' 16 turnovers. Dallas just did not have enough to overcome.

In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander's strong performance, the Thunder received a combined 37 points from Chet Holmgren (19 points) and Jalen Williams (18 points). Dallas was outperformed significant in bench scoring with Oklahoma City receiving 42 total points from its second unit compared to the Mavericks' 23.

Dallas held an 8-5 lead until the Thunder went on a 5-0 run to overtake the lead. Doncic succeeded early, but his production offensively slowed down. With Holmgren frequently playing in drop coverage, Doncic often attacked by getting into the gap out of pick-and-roll, with a pull-up in mid-range and a step-back three dropping for him. He even attacked out of double drag against Luguentz Dort's aggressive on-ball defense to get into a short-range turnaround jumper.

The Mavericks' defense emphasized sagging off Josh Giddey in the half-court, a strategy the team often deployed in the regular season. He began initiating the Thunder's offense more frequently to pressure Dallas. He even connected on a lob with Chet Holmgren for an and-one and got the rim on the following play.

Josh Green connected on a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers as the game flow settled into a back-and-forth later in the opening period. It was a tightly contested first quarter, with both teams tied 23-23 by the end. Dallas struggled early with turnovers, with Irving accounting for four of six total in the frame.

“Just talked to Kai about [the turnovers]. He said it was his fault, but it’s a team game," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "Understanding nerves and everybody wants to do the right thing. We’ve just gotta take care of the ball and if we can do that we’ll get good looks.”

Oklahoma City deployed a small-ball lineup with Jaylin Williams at the five while Gafford was on the court. After making multiple efforts, Gafford blocked a finish by Williams at the rim during one of the possessions. However, later in the game, the Thunder significantly decreased how much they deployed Giddey to maximize floor spacing, which proved challenging for Dallas.

"It's all about adjustments. It's about continuing to stay positive through some of the runs they make and being mature about who we're going against - a good team that's shown it all year," Irving said. "They have a starting five with a plus-minus through the roof and one of the top defenses. So, we'll give them credit, but we have to come into Game 2 ready and prepared."

Irving turned it on to begin the second period, getting downhill to create a trip to the free throw line, followed by an elbow jumper. Dallas initially outscored the Thunder 8-6 in the period, retaking a 31-29 lead entering a timeout with 9:14 left before halftime. Continuing the trend of it being a game filled with momentum swings, Oklahoma City answered with a 9-2 run.

"We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," Irving said. "They're never gonna stop attacking."

There was a stretch with Doncic as the solo star on the court when Dort's aggressive defense made it challenging for the Mavericks to get into their offense. A lack of connectivity out of double drag frustrated Doncic when he held in the gap with the big defender—Holmgren—committed, but Gafford was out of position.

"Lu's been a great defender since he walked into this league, he's got to be given his credit and respect," Irving said. "I think he causes a lot of issues when he's pressuring the ball handler 94 feet for practically the whole game. That's something that we have to be aware of, but he's not the only good defender out there. I don't think what makes him great is just him individually. I think it's the team game that they play, and he does a great job of being the head of that.

But for me and my teammates, we just have to continue to attack him and continue to play downhill in a way where we play off of two feet," Irving said. "They do a lot of reaching, they do a lot of small pushes and stuff like that. And we just have to adjust to the team that we're playing against."

With Doncic continuing to be the only superstar on the court, the Thunder began doubling him in the half-court, whether in the post or running a ball screen. The goal was to dare Derrick Jones Jr. to shoot by sagging off him to get the ball out of Doncic's hands. Dallas' perimeter shooting struggled while Oklahoma City began to convert.

It was a significant challenge for the Mavericks to contain Gilgeous-Alexander, often resulting in foul calls against contact when he aggressively attacked the paint, otherwise giving up space on a short-range jumper. The Thunder frequently reached the free-throw line down the second-quarter stretch while the Mavericks went up empty on their possessions.

"I'm going to show my respect and say that he's a great player, but tonight, in the first half, there wasn't really a rhythm for a lot of players out there," Irving said of guarding Gilgeous-Alexander. "It was a lot of slow down, watching free throws being taken, and adjusting to the way the game was being called. It felt like a regular season game tonight, in my perspective.

"I don't speak for anyone else, but I think it was like a regular season game because we came off a very physical series against the LA Clippers, then we had some fouls called, and some of them may have been fouls or a majority of them," Irving explained. "But as a competitor, you want the flow of the game to feel like the playoffs, with high physicality. It just feels better."

Oklahoma City took a 12-point lead late in the second quarter and entered halftime up 62-53. The Thunder overcame shooting 42.6% from the floor and 31.3% from deep by shooting 22 free throw attempts and converting at a 77.3% rate. Gilgeous-Alexander already had 19 points with 11 free throw attempts, while Aaron Wiggins (12 points) and Holmgren (11 points) scored in double figures.

At times, the Thunder blitzed Dallas to force short roll touches in 4-on-3 while sending an early low man to pressure near the restricted area. Even on isolation possessions, simply flooding the strong side was another approach. Gafford missed a few finishes as a result. Oklahoma City was content with leaving Jones and Washington on the weak side.

"I think both [Lively] and [Gafford] had a lot of reservation," Doncic said. "We talk about playing off two legs and just go dunk it. If Chet's gonna be up there, there's gonna be a small down, and they both need to go and dunk that."

Creating by a stretch with the Mavericks making consecutive 3-pointers, Washington did convert on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, followed by Irving doing the same. After outscoring the Thunder by a 12-4 margin coming out of halftime, Dallas made it a one-point game until Isaiah Joe answered with a 3-pointer of his own after using a shot fake to force a fly-by contest.

Joe's 3-pointer began a 14-4 run for Oklahoma City in a stretch featuring hot perimeter shooting results, including additional makes from Dort, Holmgren, and Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder were suddenly back up by double figures, holding an 80-69 advantage with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter. As was the case throughout the game, Gilgeous-Alexander targeted Doncic on a switch on his step-back jumper.

"I think in Game 2, we just have to settle in a lot earlier and be able to withstand some of their 3-point barrages that they get off of our long 3s that end up coming around the free throw line or some of our turnovers," Irving said. "I had too many turnovers tonight, especially in that first quarter, just trying to get my guy settled. So there are some things to look back on, but the defensive pressure is not going to stop. So we just got to adjust."

It wasn't until late in the third quarter that Dallas scored a late double when Doncic was switched onto Gilgeous-Alexander. Even on the first possession of the half, utilizing this approach, Gilgeous-Alexander successfully attacked Washington for a step-back from deep, with Doncic switching onto Dort. There was a clear need to return to the drawing board and hone in on their game plan.

The Thunder took a 15-point lead after Joe hit a 3-pointer late in the third period, followed by Gilgeous-Alexander's acrobatic finish. Doncic, continuing to play through a right knee sprain, struggled to shoot the ball and generate rim pressure. At this point, he had 17 points and eight assists but was shooting just 5-17 overall, 1-7 from beyond the arc, and 6-10 on free throws.

Irving broke down a defender for a tough pull-up 3-pointer to beat the buzzer before the third quarter ended, making it a 10-point game.

The Thunder did not relent. After Doncic rotated as the low defender to help on a drive, Holmgren received a spray-out pass in the corner and made the Mavericks pay by hitting the catch-and-shoot jumper. Oklahoma City was back up by 13 points. The Thunder continued to string together stops and were efficient offensively with an uptick in 3-point shooting execution, leading by 22 before Dallas put in reserves to close the game.

"This Game 1 is done, we didn't play as well as we would have liked," Irving said. "We failed on a lot of our coverages, and we didn't come in with the attitude that was necessary to get this W."

The Mavericks will face the Thunder in Game 2 on Thursday before returning to Dallas to continue the series. Given that the team has lost every Game 1 of the Kidd era, the team is used to bouncing back, including in the last round against the LA Clippers. The sentiment communicated is to stay positive.

"It's a series. No one wins the series just by winning one game. We got a game Thursday," Kidd said. "We'll go back to the drawing board and see what we can do better. We got to give a better effort on both sides, not just the defensive end. We got to be better on the offensive end."