In spite of injuries, Luka Dončić stuns NBA fans as the Mavericks defeat SGA and the Thunder in Game 5.
In the pivotal game of the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder’s second-round playoff series on Wednesday, Luka Dončić was unaffected by any substantial injury concerns.
Following their 104-92 victory over the Thunder in Game 5 at Paycom Center, Dončić’s Mavericks are now ahead 3-2 and one victory away from the Western Conference Finals. The guard was outstanding all game long, finishing with a triple-double of 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds on a 12-of-22 field goal and 5-of-11 three-point shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a fellow MVP finalist, had a fantastic game with 30 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals, but it wasn’t enough to win.
This is mostly due to Dončić, who received extremely positive feedback on social media.
This series has been back and forth, but going into this game, the Thunder had the momentum after Gilgeous-Alexander seized over in the closing moments of Game 4 on the road to reclaim home-court advantage.
The Mavericks, though, were unaware of the memo.
Dončić was on point as the visitors took a 10-point lead at the half, scoring three points, dishing off an alley-oop pass to Dereck Lively II from almost full court, and scrapping for rebounds. Even in front of a boisterous crowd, Dallas set the tone when Derrick Jones Jr. lit up the three-point arc en route to scoring 19 points.
With all of the injuries Dončić has been dealing with this series, which has resulted in erratic play from the five-time All-Star, his performance was especially promising for the Mavericks.
Additionally, Dallas’ defense kept up its strong play deep into the second half, which helped them extend their lead entering the fourth quarter. There was still pressure to win the game, though, as the Mavericks again dominated big chunks of Game 4 before losing their advantage in the closing minutes.
Seeing that, Dončić took charge at the beginning of the fourth quarter, scoring an and-1, a midrange floater, and a three-pointer to increase the advantage to 18. The Thunder didn’t gain much momentum or manage to get back into the game until they began to double him and take the ball out of his hands.
Even so, the Mavericks had enough of a lead to win the game thanks to timely goals from P.J. Washington and Jones in the closing minutes. For good measure, Dončić even stopped Gilgeous-Alexander during the transition.
In Game 6 on Saturday, Dallas will now try to finish the series at home.
