Oklahoma City Forces Mavericks to Waive White Flag, Secures Game 1

Oklahoma City navigated to a Game 1 victory versus the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas and Oklahoma City, two teams with a rich playoff history and two teams with superstar MVP candidates.

The No. 1 versus the No. 5 seed, the Mavericks pinned against the Thunder has been sure to be an electric Western Conference Semifinal.

That was true on Tuesday night, where Oklahoma City took Game 1 with a score of 117-95, running Dallas out of the building as they look ahead to Game 2.

It was behind a huge fourth-quarter performance from Jalen Williams that Oklahoma City was able to clinch the victory so decisively, coming alive at the right time and ending with 18 points and five assists. The Thunder leveraged their ability to turn turnovers into points throughout the night, leaving a big mark on the game with 22 total points off 16 Dallas turnovers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's excellency was true again after the Thunder's week-long hiatus, posting a 29-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist outing.

Aaron Wiggins' production off the bench was essential in the win as well as he provided a massive 16 points. Chet Holmgren's three blocks and 19 points on 50% shooting played a vital role as well.

To open the night, it was a physical first frame with all the playoff emotions.

A low-scoring quarter relative to these two teams, it was tightknit as both centers locked down in the lane as each team looked to the outside shot and relied on their superstars.

23-23 at the end of the first 12 minutes led into an exciting next frame.

Into the second, a familiar name had his hand print all over it for Oklahoma City, with Aaron Wiggins getting out to a very fast start scoring from outside and finding success at the rim. And with several steals, the Thunder were able to generate 11 points off takeaways throughout the frame, causing 10 Dallas turnovers.

This swung the tide primarily in the scoring column and sparked a mid-quarter run for Oklahoma City to gain some separation aside from some impactful playmaking from Irving. A strong first half from Gafford also didn't let things get out of hand for Dallas despite but their poor care of the ball, leaving them down 62-53 by the end of the half.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Wiggins were the Thunder's high scorers with 19 and 12 while Doncic and Gafford paced the Mavericks with 12 and 11.

A bit of an offensive quell throughout the first portion of the third quarter subsequently led to a good-sized run for Dallas, as a 9-0 slide for the Thunder brought the Mavericks back within one just under halfway through the frame. But what had been another impressive playoff showing defensively for Lu Dort helped sustain the momentum inside Paycom Center.

His defense kept Doncic at bay and created several opportunities from defense to offense, playing the Thunder's brand of basketball to a tee and riling up the Bricktown crowd to mount another 11-point lead just minutes after Dallas' run. That lead would grow to as much as 14, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end tne quarter left things at 89-70 to enter the final quarter.

And as routine per Williams, he directly lit up into the fourth frame to weather a budding Dallas storm, sinking back-to-back threes and providing several buckets to retain a 15-point lead with close to seven minutes left to play.

Williams' fourth-quarter eruption led into an onslaught of scoring for the Thunder, curating a 111-89 lead before Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd decided to waive the white flag and put his reserves into close the night.

Game 2 is slated for Thursday at 8:30 p.m. back inside Paycom Center.

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