OKLAHOMA CITY — Catching a second-chance opportunity, Luka Doncic quickly got into his shooting form and swished in a deep top-of-the-key 3-pointer despite a strong Cason Wallace contest. Even though there were over nine minutes left, the long outside shot felt like a clincher.
The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a 104-92 Game 5 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. OKC now faces elimination heading down to Dallas for Game 6 with a 3-2 series deficit in Round 2 of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
“I thought we were kinda there tonight,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the playoff loss. “Maybe missed a couple of plays, maybe missed a couple of shots. I was actually pretty encouraged by the process tonight in terms of improving through the series. I thought we improved offensively tonight. I thought, defensively, we maybe took a little bit of a step back.”
Much like the last three games, offensive woes plagued the Thunder. A low-scoring first quarter saw the Mavericks pull ahead to a 24-22 lead at the end of the frame. Dallas utilized a 12-0 run in the early stages of the second quarter to create a 40-27 advantage.
The Mavericks totaled 30 points in the second frame to enter halftime holding a 54-44 lead over the Thunder, whose offensive struggles remained the same. The second half was much of the same story.
On a second-chance opportunity, Doncic drilled a deep catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to push the Mavericks’ lead to 68-53 with a little over five minutes left in the third frame. Dallas kept a healthy distance on the scoreboard. OKC failed to eat into its halftime deficit as it exited the third quarter in a 79-67 hole.
Unlike Game 4, there was no sustained fourth-quarter juice from the Thunder this time. OKC rattled off 10 straight points to cut its deficit to eight points with a little over six minutes left, but this proved to be the closest it would get to Dallas the rest of the way.
Both teams exchanged baskets from that point forward, which is what the Mavericks were perfectly fine with. The Thunder couldn’t collect enough stops at the end — but more urgently, the best 3-point shooting team in the league this season failed to cash in on their outside looks once more.
The Thunder shot 43% from the field and went an ugly 10-of-40 (25%) from 3. They had 20 assists on 37 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stood out with 30 points and eight assists, but the rest of the squad struggled. Jalen Williams was held to 12 points on 13 shots and Chet Holmgren had 13 points on 11 shots. Lu Dort had 12 points on 11 shots and Josh Giddey scored 11 points off the bench.
“Those guys are gonna bounce back,” Daigneault said about Williams and Holmgren. “They’re really, really good players that we have a ton of confidence in. We got to continue to work to find ways to get them into rhythm and get them involved.”
Meanwhile, the Mavericks shot 53% from the field and went a hot 14-of-35 (40%) from 3. They had 27 assists on 40 baskets. Five Mavericks players scored double-digit points.
After struggling the first four games, this was easily Doncic’s best game of the series. He looked like the MVP finalist he was during the season. The 25-year-old finished with 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He shot 5-of-11 from 3.
Derrick Jones Jr. contributed with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. P.J. Washington finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 12 points and four assists. Dereck Lively II had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
This is a tough loss to handle. It appears the Mavericks’ defense has figured out the Thunder. They’ve had four straight subpar offensive outings. Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, the rest of the Thunder players have faded into the background of this Round 2 series.
The Thunder now face elimination in Game 6 at Dallas. They will need to win the next two games to move on to the Western Conference Finals, which is hard to fathom if the scoring production doesn’t improve.
“It’ll be fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on their Game 6 mindset. “Our mood won’t change. Our mentality won’t change. It’s one game at a time. We wanted to win this game as bad as we want to win the next game and the next game. I don’t think it’ll change too much.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
If this is the end of the road for the Thunder, they will enter the offseason at least knowing Gilgeous-Alexander is a playoff riser and certified top option. He’s been arguably the best player in this Round 2 series that features another MVP finalist.
In 43 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficiency wasn’t what it usually was, which speaks highly of the type of interior defense Dallas has had. Nonetheless, he did an excellent job leaving it all out on the court in a tough loss.
The 25-year-old was OKC’s lone source of offense. He attempted to wield the Thunder to another comeback with a strong 20-point second half, but the rest of the squad didn’t do enough to help make a difference.
Considering Doncic went off, the two MVP finalists essentially canceled each other out. Dallas’ cast outplayed OKC’s cast to help it collect the road win.
“I felt like we played the right way offensively tonight. It just didn’t go in,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You live with those results. We had the right intentions, right play, right passes. It just didn’t go our way.”
Jalen Williams: F
This has been a disappointing Round 2 series for Williams, there’s no way around it. He’s had his moments — including a pair of monster fourth quarters in Games 1 and 4 — but they are too far and few between.
In 39 minutes, Williams finished with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. He had a strong fourth quarter, but just four points in the first three frames isn’t going to do it.
The Thunder needed a monster series from the 23-year-old. He’s been their second-best scorer since his arrival to OKC. The shot-making hasn’t been there for him against the Mavericks, who’ve done an excellent job at eliminating his mid-range shot attempts.
Despite the result, Williams was encouraged by the offensive slow. Perhaps shots will finally fall for them in Game 6 to strive off elimination and force a decisive Game 7.
“It’s probably gonna sound crazy because we didn’t shoot it well, but I thought our offense was really good,” Williams said. “I thought we tried to do the right thing the whole game. Didn’t hit shots.”
Chet Holmgren: F
Attempting a right-wing 3-pointer, Holmgren’s outside shot attempt was blocked by athletic freak Jones Jr., who had a quick closeout. He was rewarded on the other end with an animated jam.
The five-second sequence summed up the type of offensive woes Holmgren has had in this series. The 3-point shot has not fallen for the seven-foot center, shooting 25% from 3.
In 39 minutes, Holmgren finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting and four rebounds. He shot 1-of-5 from 3.
A lack of offensive production from the Thunder’s second-best and third-best players has been the main culprit for this 3-2 series hole. It’s been four straight contests where OKC’s offense has been uglified. Jones Jr. — a Dallas role player — outscored Williams and Holmgren after three quarters — that simply can’t happen.
After limiting Doncic, Holmgren and the Thunder struggled to contain him in Game 5, where he took over late in the second half to put this one away with absurd shot-making.
“It puts a lot of pressure on you, just like any other really good player,” Holmgren said on Doncic. “He’s gonna read what we’re doing and how we’re trying to take him out and limit him and he’s gonna find ways to counter that.”
Josh Giddey: C
In a shocking move, the Thunder elected to bench Giddey. It marked the first time in his career that the 21-year-old was not a starter. It’s been a heavily discussed talking point all series as Dallas has ignored the 21-year-old on offense, essentially undermanning the Thunder’s half-court offense.
OKC went with Isaiah Joe for his outside shooting, which didn’t produce the results they likely hoped for. He finished with six points and shot 2-of-8 from 3.
Credit towards Giddey, he was a decent bench piece. In 12 minutes, he finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, three rebounds and two assists. He provided the bench lineups with a playmaker and was a solid scoring option within the perimeter.
Seeing what the Thunder does with Giddey in Game 6 will be interesting. He had solid minutes and was arguably OKC’s second-best player in this lackluster loss. OKC will need to examine all its options to have better offensive starts.
“It gave us a chance to get back into some normal attacks on offense,” Daigneault said on the decision to bench Giddey. “Shake the game up a little bit with the opponent and try to generate some flow to start… It also gives Josh second-unit minutes to playmaker a little bit.”
