Not much went the Dallas Mavericks’ way in the first half of Saturday’s Western Conference semifinal series against the
Oklahoma City Thunder. But that’s why the game consists of two halves, and the second half turned into a pot of gold for the team from North Texas.
After looking extremely sluggish on both ends of the floor in the first half when they trailed by 16 points, the Mavs cranked things up after halftime and had the stars align long enough for them to eke out a nerve-wracking 117-116 victory over the Thunder. With the sellout crowd of 20,555 going delirious, the Mavs were able to close out this best-of-seven series in six games and advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons in electrifying fashion.
In a game that probably had a lot of hearts skipping a lot of beats, this was the largest halftime comeback in Mavs’ playoff history and also was the fourth-largest halftime comeback in a series-clinching playoff victory in NBA history.
The Mavs will now play the winner of the other conference semifinal between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves starting Wednesday. Game 2 of that series will also be on the road before the series shifts to AAC for Games 3 and 4 on May 26 and May 28.
The Nuggets and Timberwolves are 3-3 in their best-of-seven series with Game 7 on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Denver.
On Saturday, the Mavs trailed 64-48 at the half after Thunder guard Isaiah Joe drilled a long three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer. Things looked bleak for the Mavs and the possibility of having to play a winner-take-all Game 7 in OKC on Monday was firmly on the table.
But the Mavs had other ideas. Coach Jason Kidd made the necessary adjustments at halftime, and the Mavs were able to give their fans what they came here for.
Kidd said the first part of his halftime speech was about the 12 turnovers the Mavs accumulated which led to 23 points for the Thunder.
“The second part was just the trust, and that we had to play faster,” Kidd said. “We were not playing fast enough. Even if they scored, we needed to take the ball out and not look around and walk the ball up.
“At the start of the third (quarter) I thought (Derrick) Jones (Jr.) got us off to a great start, and then we worked the game. Understanding we weren’t going to get those 16 points in two shots. I thought the group stayed together, trusted each other and worked the game and got it down to seven at the end of the third, and now it’s anybody’s ballgame.”
Before the Mavs got the game to a seven-point deficit – 90-83 – entering the fourth quarter, they fell behind, 75-58, with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter following a dunk by Chet Holmgren. And it was another dunk by Holmgren via a feed from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (36 points) that gave OKC a 116-115 lead with 20.4 seconds left in the game.
But Luka Dončić worked the ball up the court, then fed P.J. Washington in the left corner, and he was subsequently fouled by Gilgeous-Alexander while attempting a three-point shot with just 2.5 seconds left. The Thunder, who had one timeout remaining, challenged the foul and subsequently
lost that challenge, thus also losing their last timeout.
Meanwhile, Washington stepped to the free throw line and buried the first two charity tosses to give the Mavs a one-point lead. Washington then intentionally missed the third free throw.
However, since the Thunder – who rebounded the ball – were out of timeouts, they were forced to hoist up a very long shot that had absolutely no chance of finding its intended destination. And it was at that point when the crowd, and the Mavs, started to celebrate in earnest.
“I think it was fun once the game ended,” said guard Kyrie Irving, who scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and is a perfect 14-0 in close-out games. “It was so many high emotions going on out there. Being down 17 in a close-out game isn’t a position you want to be in.
“But that’s where we found ourselves, so we had to respond the way we’ve been responding all season. (We were) just playing hard-nose basketball on the defensive end, getting out in transition and just trusting that our pace would get us back in the game.”
Irving was almost emotional while making a postgame speech to his teammates in the locker room as he advanced to a conference finals for the first time since 2017 when he was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I had to make an impromptu speech and I was doing my best not to let some tears come down from my eyes because it feels like it’s been a long time coming just being back in this position, getting back to the conference finals,” he said. “I look back at parts of my career where I took it for granted just getting to the conference finals for three years straight, and not getting back for a little bit will weigh on you as a competitor.
“I’m grateful that I had these guys beside me and kept feeding me confidence and kept doing the little things for one another. I think that’s what made the celebration feels that much better.”
The celebration, Kidd said, came because the Mavs trusted one another that anybody on the court could manufacture a big-time play at a critical point in the game. Even after Holmgren put the Thunder up by that one point late in the game, Kidd knew probably everyone in the free world probably figured Dončić or Irving would be the player who would take the final shot for the Mavs.
But it turned out to be Washington, who got into early foul trouble and didn’t score his first point of the night until less than six minutes remained in the game.
“(Dončić) could easily have taken a tough or a bad shot,” Kidd said. “But he trusted that P.J. was open. (Dončić) made the right play and it ended up with the free throws.
“Luka could have easily done his step-back and shot over the two guys. Make or miss, we would have said that’s a good shot. But he’s playing the game the right way and he’s playing it at a high level.”
Dončić wound up collecting his third straight triple-double, finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while converting 9-of-15 shots.
“I think we just stick together,” Dončić said. “We’re always talking on the bench of staying together and positive energy, and today was a pure example of it.
“This group has been together for five months. We’re capable of more and more.”
The Mavs are certainly capable of much more, particularly if they continue to get solid contributions from Jones (a career playoff-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shots), and rookie center Dereck Lively II, who played a major role in Dallas battering the Thunder on the boards, 47-31. Lively, just 20 years old, finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds while becoming the youngest player in the history of the NBA playoffs to grab at least 15 boards.
“He was amazing,” Dončić said. “He’s been doing this while being a rookie. He has unbelievable potential.”
The win was historic in one aspect as the Mavs and Dallas Stars are both in the conference finals in the same season for the first time ever.
“It is a big accomplishment, but the job’s not finished,” Jones said, referring to the Mavs. “We’ve got to keep on going.
“We need eight more wins until we get what we want.”
The next step on the Mavs’ journey starts Wednesday in either Denver or Minnesota. And, Kidd and the Mavs are up for the challenge.
“We just go out there and play, and play for each other, and that’s what’s going to win a championship,” Kidd said. “Hopefully at the end of time here we can hold another trophy. I had that opportunity to do that here (in 2011) and it’s incredible, but it is hard.
“The hardest thing to do in professional sports is to win a championship. For the coaching staff, they did an incredible job of getting these guys ready to play, and the players trusted the game plan and executed the game plan and we found a way to win the series.”
X: @DwainPrice
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