By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Oklahoma City Thunder survived the Dallas Mavericks’ defensive clinic to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2, following a 100-96 victory in Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs on May 14, 2024.
Oklahoma overcame Dallas’ franchise playoff record of 13 blocks in a single game and came through in the most crucial stretch of the final quarter.
After trailing by as much as 14 points in the first half, the young Thunder squad stepped on the gas pedal in the final two quarters and outscored the Mavericks, 57-42, in the second half.
It all started with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive resurgence after only scoring 12 in the first half. After catching fire in the third, the NBA MVP candidate dropped 22 points to cap off his strong effort with 34 markers, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
The Canadian scorer was in the zone in the second half, getting to his mid-range sweet spots while also hustling for the loose balls to reward the Thunder with second-chance points.
Trailing by six points with only five minutes remaining in the game, Alexander hit three consecutive jumpers to help Oklahoma tie the game at 86-all.
The Thunder then retook the lead after a Chet Holmgren three-pointer, 89-86, that officially marked their successful comeback after being down by double digits.
After a Dereck Lively slam dunk that pulled the Mavericks to within a point, 89-88, Lugentz Dort hit an early dagger when he sank a crucial trey from the left corner to increase Oklahoma’s lead to four points, 92-88.
Following that sequence, Dallas failed to return to the driver’s seat and played catch up in the final two minutes of the back-and-forth Game 4.
The Mavericks had the chance to tie the game with only 10 seconds left but Luka Doncic split his free throws, missing the first that hurt Dallas in the crunch time.
Alexander then iced the game after converting all of his shots from the charity stripe when he got fouled in the last three seconds of the game.
Holmgren backstopped Alexander with a near double-double performance of 18 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and a steal while Dort chipped in 17 markers and eight boards.
On the other hand, Doncic had a triple-double outing of 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists but needed more help from Kyrie Irving as the star floor general only produced nine points in 11 tries.
