The Dallas Mavericks were so close to taking a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven playoff series against Oklahoma City
that they probably could taste it.
Unfortunately, when Monday’s game was in the books, the Mavs left American Airlines Center with a sour taste in their mouth.
Too many missed free throws, too many mental lapses and too many costly turnovers cost the Mavs as they suffered a heart-breaking 100-96 loss to the Thunder at AAC. With the setback, this Western Conference semifinal series is now tied at 2-2 with Game 5 set for Wednesday night at 8:30 in Oklahoma City.
Game 6 will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at AAC, and a Game 7, if necessary, will be May 20 in OKC.
The Mavs left the arena knowing they let a golden opportunity to take control of this series slip away.
“We had the game pretty much in our hands and in control,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “We just didn’t make enough of the clutch plays down the stretch.
“I feel like we played well enough to get the W the majority of the game. But we just didn’t finish the job.”
And they have no one to blame but themselves as they blew a 14-point lead in each half. Somehow, the Mavs had an offensive meltdown in the third quarter when they were outscored, 22-15, and their defense let them down in the fourth quarter when they were 
outscored, 35-27.
But the biggest factor that set the Mavs back on their collective heels was their poor performance at the free throw line. While the Thunder stepped up and knocked down 23 of their 24 free throws, the Mavs were just 12-of-23 from the charity stripe.
“These are pros – they’re not machines,” coach Jason Kidd said when asked about his team’s plethora of missed free throws. “They practice their free throws. They practice putting on their uniform. It’s just about being able to step up.
“You’re going to make some (free throws), you’re going to miss some. No one’s shot 100 percent from the free throw line, so it’s just a matter of being able to simulate late game. We practice them during practice, they practice them when they shoot individually. We just got to hope that they make them at the right time if they’re not shooting a high percentage.”
Despite blowing a 57-43 lead in the third quarter, the Mavs had a chance to send the game into overtime. With OKC clinging to a slim 96-94 lead with 10.1 seconds remaining, Luka Dončić stepped to the charity stripe with an opportunity to tie the score.
However, Dončić missed the front end of the two free throws, then made the second, leaving the Mavs one point shy. Chet Holmgren (18 points, nine rebounds, four blocks) proceeded to convert a pair of free throws to pad OKC’s lead to 98-95 with 9.4 seconds to go.
As the Mavs were attempting to potentially tie the score with a three-pointer, the Thunder were whistled for an away from the ball foul which sent Washington to the free throw line with 3.2 seconds left. Washington missed the first free throw and converted the second one – he said he tried to intentionally miss the second one — as the Mavs inched to within 98-96 of OKC.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34 points, eight rebounds) then closed out the scoring by connecting on a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining, and the Mavs walked off the court knowing they let one get away.
“We can’t win in the playoffs when we allow a team to score 35 points in the fourth quarter,” said Washington, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds. “We’ve got to be better on that end. Obviously, we had a bunch of turnovers that were unforced.
“Obviously, we’ve got to hit our free throws. Just the little things that we need to clean up.”
The Mavs also need to find a way to get some more points from their heavy hitters. Dončić finished with a triple-double – 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists – but he was just 6-of-20 from the field and picked up half of the Mavs’ 14 turnovers.
And Irving scored just nine points – he also scored nine points in Game 2 – and added nine assists, but was only 4-of-11 from the floor.
“I think they’re so focus on us,” Dončić said, referring to himself and Irving. “They collapse the paint very well.
“And when we drive it they collapse the paint – almost five guys. I think that’s been difficult for us. We just got to find the open teammates.”
Kidd reiterated what he’s said all series: this will not be easy.
“It’s a game of runs,” Kidd said. “They made a run there late in the fourth, but we had an opportunity to tie it and we didn’t capitalize on it.
“The (shooting) percentages aren’t always going to be great, but you got to try to find a way to win it. Kai is doing a great job of leading on the defensive end and he’s taking his opportunities on the offensive end. He just didn’t knock them down tonight.”
On the flip side, Gilgeous-Alexander was busy knocking down shot after shot as he tallied 10 of his points in the frantic fourth quarter and finished the night 14-of-27 from the field.
“He took almost 30 shots tonight,” Kidd said. “He has the ball 90 percent of the time. You just got make it tough. He’s one of the top players in the world. We just got to contest. We got to be better.
“But I thought the guys did a good job. Tonight he got to his sweet spot. We sent different guys at him and tried to wear him down, but tonight he made big shots.”
The Mavs came out like gangbusters and had the crowd all juiced up. Derrick Jones Jr. and Dončić tallied seven points apiece as Dallas took a 30-20
lead into the second quarter. The Mavs were 11-of-21 from the floor in the first quarter, including 5-of-11 from three-point range.
But that turned out to be fool’s gold as the Mavs scored just 66 points the rest of the game and have now let the Thunder back into this series.
“It’s the first to (win) four (games),” Dončić said. “Stay humble and stay ready.”
On a night when the Mavs set a franchise playoff record for blocks in a game with 13, Dončić said he has no concerns about whether the Mavs can recover and win the series. They lost Game 4 in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers, then rallied to win the next two games and the series.
“We just got to be ready,” Dončić said. “We got to play hard like we did tonight. I think we played really hard.
“Some details cost us the game. Obviously, it’s going to be hard on the road. But we’ve done it before and we can do it again.”
That’s also the message Kidd is spreading throughout the locker room.
“This is a great group, this is a tight-knit group and we’ve always bounced back,” Kidd said. “We just got to focus on Wednesday.
“We’ve been in this situation before, so we can learn from the past. This is the No.1 team in the Western Conference, and it’s 2-2. We get to keep playing and we get to play on Wednesday.”
X: @DwainPrice
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