Thunder Blow Past Mavericks to Punch Vegas Ticket, 118-104
The Thunder defense was swarming all night, and they sure made a massive statement win to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in a 118-104 victory. Oklahoma City has now won its fourth game in a row and earned its ticket to the semis stage of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. It was a convincing win for the Thunder, who are now winners of four games in a row.
OKC started out strong right from the tip as they played with high energy on defense, swarming the Dallas Mavericks and chasing them away from the three-point line and forcing them to drive to the basket. The Thunder would go on to have a massive lead to start the fourth, but Dallas would go on to try to make it close with two threes from Klay Thompson and a timely and-one three from Luka Doncic.
However, OKC would go on to come up the final touches to close out the game for good, with Luguentz Dort drilling a clutch three in the corner that proved to be the dagger. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd would go on to pull out his starters, signalling the white flag as fans at the Paycom Center celebrated a promising victory for the Thunder.
Sen-Shai-tional Performance
No other player in the game cracked more than 20 and 30 points than OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 39 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, including five made threes to propel the Thunder to the victory. He made one difficult shot after another, including that scoop layup high off the board over Dallas’ Dereck Lively II, and a hefty number of mid-range jumpers to keep the pressure on the Mavericks.
Shai has now scored more than 25 points in the last five games, and made 15 field goals in this clash against the Mavericks as well. He has been making a lot of noise for the MVP race, and it cannot be denied that he’s been consistent for the season so far. The 2024 MVP runner up has averaged 30.2 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game in 24 games this season, including a staggering 51.5% shooting from the field.
Jalen Williams chipped in 18 points and 7 rebounds, while Isaiah Hartenstein dominated the paint with 10 points and 13 rebounds – his seventh double-double in 10 games with the Thunder this season so far.
Defense Wins Games
OKC finished the game with a total of 29 assists – one of the best games for the team this season so far. They had 14 steals and forced 18 Dallas turnovers to win the game – which was pivotal in the pace of the game. So far, it has been the presence of Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace – three defensive guards for the Thunder that helped that ordeal.
Dort’s job, however, was tougher as he had to guard Luka Doncic for the whole game. The Slovenian star finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, but had six turnovers and shot only 5-of-15 from the field. It seems that the Dorture chamber was active after all, and that played a huge role in the victory for the Thunder.
OKC now waits for its next opponent in the Semifinals of the NBA Cup, which will be held in Las Vegas all the way to the final. The Thunder will play either the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in that said stage.
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