Luka Doncic Leads Dallas Mavericks to Decisive Game 5 Win: 3 Game-Changing Plays

The Mavericks take a 3-2 series lead over the OKC Thunder as Luka Doncic has his best game of the series

May 15, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots beside / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks let Game 4 slip away as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving struggled to score, while everyone failed to hit free throws. Having not lost back-to-back games these playoffs, they'd need a big bounce back game to re-take control of the series.

Game 5 started similarly to Game 4; Dallas held a big lead early and did their best to keep OKC at arm's length, at least once the game got to the second quarter. It was just a 2-point lead for the Mavericks, but they took control in this second 12 minutes.

Derrick Jones Jr. was exceptional in the first half of this game, scoring 15 points without missing a shot. But it started Luka Doncic's mentality. He made it clear that he would focus on basketball, not worry about the officiating, and play the best he could. Some of the passes Doncic made in the first half, which included a half-court lob, were simply incredible.

In fact, let's use one of those as our first play.

READ MORE: REPORT: Derrick Jones Jr. Wants to Return to the Dallas Mavericks Next Season

That Luka x Dereck Lively II connection 😱 pic.twitter.com/F5aJaurlYS

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 16, 2024

As impressive as the half-court lob to Dereck Lively II was, this play was a better summation of the first half. The Mavs were sharing the ball, it was moving crisply, and they were converting the open looks. It's rare you see a give-and-go and give again with this offense but it was run to perfection as Lively slams it down.

This sequence was part of a 12-0 run as they took control in the second quarter, and went from a 2-point lead at the end of the first quarter to a 10-point lead at halftime. Lively was spectacular in this game, easily his best game of the series with a team-high +22.

DJ DOES IT ALL‼️ pic.twitter.com/krld9tl83O

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 16, 2024

This was Derrick Jones Jr.'s only field goal of the second half, but it was huge. The Thunder had chipped away at the lead, working it down to 7 points after Dallas led by as much as 18 early in the 4th quarter.

Some made buckets by P.J. Washington and two free throws by Dereck Lively II pushed the lead back to 11 with a little over two minutes remaining. Chet Holmgren is gearing up for what he thinks is a wide-open three, but Jones swats it out of the air, Doncic picks up and kicks it ahead as Jones finishes emphatically, putting a lid on this game.

A lot has been made of Holmgren's low release, his shot coming out flat this series, and the numbers back it up, as he's hit just 3 of his 15 threes since the start of Game 2. Having the high-flying Derrick Jones Jr. contest a 7-footer's shot is big for Dallas.

Luka BLOCK!!! pic.twitter.com/o7ciw36aLO

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) May 16, 2024

Maybe there were more impactful plays, but again this was a great summation of how locked-in Doncic was in this game. He does a great job of sliding his feet and getting the late block on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the game enters the final minute.

The game was mostly over at this point, but we just saw on Monday night a team struggling to close a game. This is a great mentality to have as the series heads back to Dallas with a chance for the Mavericks to move on to the Western Conference Finals.

Doncic had his best game of the series Wednesday night: 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds while shooting 12/22 from the floor and 5/11 from 3. This is a far cry from the 39% from the field and 31% from 3 he had been shooting in the first four games. It's his third career 30-point playoff triple-double, making him one of seven players ever to reach that number three times.

Lively also had his best game of the series. I mentioned his +22, but he also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He played some exceptional defense throughout the game, even on switches against SGA.

Derrick Jones Jr. finished with a playoff career-high of 19 points on 7/9 shooting. He stepped up as Washington fell back down to earth a little with his 10 points and 10 rebounds.

We're still waiting for Kyrie Irving to have a big game this series. Maybe Jalen Williams is just a bad matchup for him, but there were chances where he could've taken an open floater and passed instead.

What the Mavericks have done really well this series is limit the non-SGA scorers. He had his 30 points in this game, as he has had all series, but no one else scored more than 13 points for the Thunder. Jalen Williams, one of the NBA's rising stars this season, had just 12 points to decrease his scoring average this series. Dallas is contesting a lot of shots to make those three-point looks tough. OKC finally benched Josh Giddey in favor of Isaiah Joe to start this game and it worked a little better, but Dallas has been so good in the opening quarters.

Dallas will get a chance to close the series at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. CST in Game 6.

READ MORE: Could Dallas Mavericks Draft Bronny James, Sign Lakers' LeBron James in Free Agency?

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Playoffs 

Follow Austin Veazey on Twitter