Inefficient 3-Point Shooting Plagues Thunder Once More, Falls in Game 5

The Thunder fell to the Mavericks on Wednesday night, leaving Dallas ahead 3-2 in the series.

May 15, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City's Game 4 left little room for doubt that this team could overcome late-game leads and face any challenge thrown at them.

After surmounting an unprobable late comeback in Dallas, the Thunder won a crucial game to tie up the series 2-2.

On Wednesday, that magic could not be repeated. A 104-92 eventual outcome, Dallas and Luka Doncic took advantage of another poor 3-point shooting night from the Thunder to gain a 3-2 advantage in Game 5.

Doncic's 31 points on 12-for-20 from the field trumped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 30-point performance, but more importantly reaped the riches of a 25.0% 3-point night from Oklahoma City.

The Thunder's start out of the gate wasn't as sluggish as a game ago, with Isaiah Joe supplanting Josh Giddey in the starting lineup being a possible reason for that. This would be Giddey's first game in his entire career to come in as a reserve.

Joe would hit a quick three out of the gate, but he'd wind up having a troubling outing from the field at 2-of-9 on the night.

Leaving Giddey to check in around the 4:30 mark, his entrance wasn't the most impactful defensively of course, but he did offer a score and helped Oklahoma City stay within striking range by the end of the frame with the score at 24-22. Gilgeous-Alexander had his typical hand in the scoring department, and anchored the Thunder primarily in a half-court setting.

Into the second quarter, the Dallas offense began to ring true as they started to sink their shots from outside, ultimately ending the half shooting 41.2% on seven makes. And with a breakout half from Jones Jr., having 15 points on a perfect six attempts, the Thunder's first two frames led them to a 10-point deficit despite 10 points generated from Gilgeous-Alexander.

Relatively poor 3-point plagued them already at this point, hitting just six of their 20 tries. Though Oklahoma City's scoring was well distributed, it wasn't quite enough to overcome Doncic's and Jones Jr'.'s 32 combined points as the Thunder went into the break down 54-44.

Out of the break, the 3-point woes continued to hinder Oklahoma City offensively even through an early-quarter three from Gilgeous-Alexander. An offensive stall all around thorughout the first half of the frame allowed Dallas to remount a 15-point advantage and null the Paycom crowd, as Doncic's point total extended and led to an ultimate 12-point lead heading into the final frame.

WIth Jalen Williams having been a virtual non-factor the entire night, it felt like he may have been in store for something bigger in the fourth. But a hyper-focused game from Doncic just didn't let the Thunder shift the tide too much, leaving himself and the Dallas role players to close out a victory on the road.

Oklahoma City brought it back within 10, but the Thunder's uncharacteristic 3-point performance throughout the series continued to be the case, as they head back to Dallas for Game 6.

Game 6 will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday inside American Airlines Center.

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