The Thunder beat the Mavericks 96-100 in Dallas to tie the tie at two, in a match where Doncic showed an earthly version, as he lost more balls (seven) than he scored baskets in the game (six). Even so, the Slovenian reached the triple-double, with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Doncic, who is not having his series, either due to knee problems or due to Dort’s sticky defense, finished with a discreet six of 20 in field goals, unsuspected percentages for the former Real Madrid player. The other star of the ‘Mavs’, Kyrie Irving, did not accompany him either, with only 9 points.
However, Dallas had the victory in their hands, as they dominated for most of the match. With seven minutes left, Jason Kidd’s team led by eight, but the Thunder, with a squad of 25 years on average, did not give in. Three consecutive baskets by Shai encouraged Oklahoma. The Canadian, second in the MVP ahead of Doncic, scored 34 points to put his team on his back in the most difficult moment of the tie.
After the three baskets by the point guard, a pupil of Jordi Fernández in the national team, Holmgren and Dort scored two triples to turn the score around. Even so, the ‘Mavs’ were able to tie the game with ten seconds remaining, but Doncic missed one of the two free throws. In the subsequent press conference, the Slovenian showed his anger with the team’s free throw percentage: “It is unacceptable to shoot with 52% (success) in free throws.” Oklahoma, however, made 23 of the 24 free throws he shot.
With the victory of Mark Daigneault’s team, the series is tied at two, but with home court advantage for the Thunder, since they finished the regular season in first place. The Mavericks wasted a considerable advantage to make it 3-1 and, now, they will have to win a game in Oklahoma. To do this, they need to recover the best version of Doncic and Irving, who have not yet shown their level in this series.
In the most unequal series of the Conference semifinals, the Celtics have dealt an almost definitive blow, after beating the Cavaliers 102-109 in Cleveland. The best team of the regular season took advantage of the loss of Donovan Mitchell, the star of the ‘Cavs’ and one of the most outstanding players of the playoffs, due to a strain in his left calf.
Garland did the job of his teammate, with 30 points, but the Celtics are a tough team to crack, as the Heat suffered themselves. The Tatum-Brown duo, with 60 points between them, was too much for the Cavs who have an uphill battle in the tie. Boston is one win away from its third consecutive Conference Finals, in what seems like it could be the year for the NBA’s most successful franchise along with the Lakers.