Mavericks Aim To Close Series Against Thunder
The Dallas Mavericks will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals at American Airlines Center on Saturday. The Mavericks lead the series 3-2.
The Mavericks pulled a huge win in what essentially became a best-of-three series with qa 104-92 win in Game 5 on Wednesday. Led by Luka Doncic’s triple-double (31 points (12-22 FG, 5-11 3Pt, 2-3 FT), 10 rebounds, 11 assists and one block over 41 minutes) and Derrick Jones’ emergence as a reliable offensive alternative (19 points on 7-9 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT shooting), the Mavericks now sit potentially just 48 minutes away from another trip to the Western Conference Finals. Dallas have found a way to slow down Jalen Williams and to make Josh Giddey borderline unplayable for the Thunder, so the Mavericks are getting the job done on both ends of the court. Playing at home will only enhance their chances of closing out the series, as they went 25-16 at home during the regular season. However, they lost in their most recent head-to-head contest against the Thunder here. Dallas must concentrate in the task at hand, but if the team performs similar to how it did in Game 5, there’s a strong chance there won’t be a Game 7 at Paycom Center.
The Mavericks are listing Luka Doncic (right knee sprain and left ankle soreness) as probable. Maxi Kleber (shoulder) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (ankle) are out.
It seems the Thunder have always been playing from behind in the series. They won the series opener in comfortable fashion, but it has gone downhill from there. They lost Games 2 and 3, and even though they recovered the home-field advantage in Game 4, the team never got it going in Game 5. The Thunder has looked good at times and the play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been instrumental to the team’s success in the current postseason run, but the star floor general simply can’t do everything on his own. The star floor general is averaging 31.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the current series against Dallas while riding a four-game streak of appearances with 30 or more points. But at the same time, he needs the support of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren if OKC wants to have a shot at forcing a decisive Game 7 at home. Unless the rest of the team steps up -- or finds a way to slow Luka Doncic down, which seems almost impossible -- the odds will be against the Thunder. However, the Thunder already won in this venue in the series, and nothing says they can’t accomplish that goal again.
The Thunder are at full strength entering this Game 6.
The Mavericks pulled a huge win in what essentially became a best-of-three series with qa 104-92 win in Game 5 on Wednesday. Led by Luka Doncic’s triple-double (31 points (12-22 FG, 5-11 3Pt, 2-3 FT), 10 rebounds, 11 assists and one block over 41 minutes) and Derrick Jones’ emergence as a reliable offensive alternative (19 points on 7-9 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT shooting), the Mavericks now sit potentially just 48 minutes away from another trip to the Western Conference Finals. Dallas have found a way to slow down Jalen Williams and to make Josh Giddey borderline unplayable for the Thunder, so the Mavericks are getting the job done on both ends of the court. Playing at home will only enhance their chances of closing out the series, as they went 25-16 at home during the regular season. However, they lost in their most recent head-to-head contest against the Thunder here. Dallas must concentrate in the task at hand, but if the team performs similar to how it did in Game 5, there’s a strong chance there won’t be a Game 7 at Paycom Center.
The Mavericks are listing Luka Doncic (right knee sprain and left ankle soreness) as probable. Maxi Kleber (shoulder) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (ankle) are out.
It seems the Thunder have always been playing from behind in the series. They won the series opener in comfortable fashion, but it has gone downhill from there. They lost Games 2 and 3, and even though they recovered the home-field advantage in Game 4, the team never got it going in Game 5. The Thunder has looked good at times and the play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been instrumental to the team’s success in the current postseason run, but the star floor general simply can’t do everything on his own. The star floor general is averaging 31.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the current series against Dallas while riding a four-game streak of appearances with 30 or more points. But at the same time, he needs the support of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren if OKC wants to have a shot at forcing a decisive Game 7 at home. Unless the rest of the team steps up -- or finds a way to slow Luka Doncic down, which seems almost impossible -- the odds will be against the Thunder. However, the Thunder already won in this venue in the series, and nothing says they can’t accomplish that goal again.
The Thunder are at full strength entering this Game 6.