Game 5: Can Mavericks get over the hump in knotted-up series

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mavericks will be back in the Thunderdome on Wednesday night knowing exactly what’s waiting for them.

And what they need to do to grab the momentum in a playoff series that has been as unpredictable as they come.

Their priorities:

Stay poised. Figure out a way to make life harder on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. And get Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić rolling at the level we’ve come to know and love.

That last one is probably the trickiest of the three.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have made it clear that they want Irving and Dončić to have zero clean looks at the basket. They are OK with P.J. Washington lighting it up at times. Or with centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II rolling to the rim.

As long as Irving and Dončić combine for 27 points, as they did in the 100-96 loss at American Airlines Center on Monday that knotted the Western Conference semifinals at two wins apiece, instead of the 60 or so that we’re accustomed to seeing, the Thunder will live with their chances.

But for the Mavericks – and Thunder, too – the X’s and O’s are less important in what has become a best-of-three series than sheer willpower.

“We’re looking forward to Games 5 and 6, where it’s a telltale sign of whether we’re going to be that group that gets over the hump or be one of those groups that looks back and sees OKC and is living with some of the woulda, coulda shouldas,” Irving said in the wee hours of Tuesday morning after Game 4. “We know the position we’re in. We’re real about it. I’m real about it. We just got to stay poised.

“Don’t panic and just stay poised. It’s not time to have irrational emotions toward a game like (Monday).”

There’s that word: poise.

The Mavericks had it in Game 4. They just didn’t have the late-game execution to go with it. They allowed the Thunder to get second shots after the Mavs had dominated the rebounding early in the game. They missed five of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter, 11 of 23 for the game.

And, truthfully, the Mavericks know they need to figure out ways to get their superstar backcourt rolling without forcing anything.

“We’re making the right plays,” Irving said. “I’m seeing three (defenders) in front of the ball every time I come off the screen. Pretty much blitzing me, telling me to get off the ball.

“With Luka, they’re telling Lu Dort to stay attached to his body, stay aggressive, stay physical. When you’re in the height of a semifinals playoff series, it’s going to be a little different than the regular season. For us, it’s just about picking the right spots and continue to stay aggressive. And play off of each other very well, too. I think sometimes I can help Luka, he can help me and we create easy opportunities for ourselves when we do that and the team pretty much comes along with us.”

And while the Thunder have been clamping down on the Mavericks’ superstars, P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr. and their centers have been getting more offensive chances.

“I got to give credit to my teammates,” Irving said. “They’ve been carrying not only me, but Luka, in the series so far.”

And, finally, there is Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 34 points in Game 4, with 10 of those, plus four assists, coming in the Thunder’s 35-point fourth quarter.

“That was unbelievable,” Dončić said. “He kept making shots. Maybe at some point we got to send a double-team. He’s just too good, very good. Every shot was contested. But he works on that a lot. He gets to his spot and then knock it down.”

Here’s what else to look for in Game 5 Wednesday night.

• When a series is tied at 2, the Game 5 winner advances to the next round 81.7 percent of the time (190-42), including 2-0 in the first round, one of which was the Mavericks emerging from a 2-2 tie to beat the LA Clippers 4-2.
• After four games in the series, the numbers begin to mean a bit more. Dončić is averaging 22 points in the Thunder series, by far his lowest average in any of the seven playoff series he’s appeared in. His 39 percent shooting also is a career worst in any playoff series. Irving is averaging 15 points, his lowest in a series since 2015 when he was with Cleveland. Both players have been putting in more effort on the defensive end, plus the Thunder are sending multiple defenders at both of them.
• In the past three games, the Thunder have shot 31 percent from three-point range (27-of-87). They started Game 4 making just three of their first 19 triples, but came alive in the fourth quarter to shoot 4-of-8.
• Lost in the crunch-time problems in Game 4 for the Mavericks was the fact that Dončić had a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
• Oklahoma City is favored by 4 ½ points and the over/under is 212.5 points.

DALLAS MAVERICKS (2-2) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (2-2)

When: 8:30 p.m., Wednesday.

Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City.

TV: TNT.

Radio: KEGL 97.1 FM The Eagle; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

X: @ESefko