Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder's Dazzling Game 1 Victory Over Dallas

Oklahoma City had another impressive postseason performance on Tuesday night, taking down the Mavericks by 22 points in the Modern Frontier.

May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) celebrates / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder once again proved that despite their youth, they are a real threat to make a deep run in the Western Conference Playoffs this season.

After taking down the New Orleans Pelicans in the Round 1 sweep, some NBA observers still questioned whether OKC was a real competitor for the Western Conference Finals this year. While the Thunder looked very strong in their opening series, the Pelicans being without Zion Williamson left some viewers with cautious expectations of the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series. 

Following their beatdown of the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the second round, however, Oklahoma City's skeptics are starting to see that the team has a real chance at making a run deeper into the postseason than nearly anyone expected.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday night's contest.

Thunder win the battle on the boards

Leading up to the postseason, some of OKC's biggest doubters cited the team's lack of size as one of their primary concerns about the team's playoff chances. In the first round, some analysts thought that a stronger center like Jonas Valanciunas would be an issue for Oklahoma City and cause the series to go longer than expected.

While Valanciunas didn't have a bad series statistically, he also didn't make a huge impact outside of the first quarter in any game against the Thunder. Even after easily taking down Valanciunas and the Pelicans, national media members like Chris Vernon still thought that OKC's lack of size would hurt them against Dallas. 

In Game 1, at least, size was no issue for Mark Daigneault's team, as Oklahoma City grabbed 52 rebounds compared to just 39 from the Mavericks. Additionally, the Thunder logged five more offensive boards than Dallas.

Despite having two solid options at center in Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, OKC's big men did a good job of keeping the Mavericks off the glass and not allowing second chance points.

Oklahoma City's offense fired on all cylinders

Not only were the Thunder good on the glass, the team also dished out an OKC playoff record 29 assists in their opening game of the second round.  

Solid ball movement from Daigneault's team kept the Mavericks scrambling on defense all night, especially later in the game when Dallas seemed to get fatigued. This led to a barrage of open 3-point shots for Oklahoma City, which is exactly how the Thunder's offense attacked teams during the regular season. 

OKC shot 45.7% from beyond the arc in Game 1 of the second round, with seven different players knocking down at least two shots from deep. 

In addition to a hot shooting night from 3-point range, Oklahoma City also got good contributions from bench players like Aaron Wiggins and Jaylin Williams. Wiggins, who made a big impact in the second quarter, went 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to finish with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

Williams, who was the first player to check in off the bench for OKC, also went 5-for-7 from the field. The Arkansas product tallied 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes on the floor.

Of course, the Thunder's usual trio led the team offensively, as Chet Holmgren finished with 19 points, Jalen Williams with 18 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 29.

OKC's defense showed up (on time)

After playing tremendous defense on Brandon Ingram in the first round, Lu Dort received plenty of attention for his efforts. 

When asked about how the Thunder planned to guard Luka Doncic, one of the best offensive players in the world, Daigneault had a simple answer. 

"Just make sure Lu is on time for the game," Daigneault said.

On Tuesday night, Dort was on time and played another incredible defensive game. The fifth-year veteran held Doncic to 19 points on 19 shot attempts, ending the MVP candidate's impressive stretch of 20-point playoff performances. 

In addition to Dort, the rest of OKC's roster played great defense in Game 1 as well, holding Dallas to 95 points. The Mavericks shot just 39.3% from the field and 34.3% from beyond the arc in the series opener.

The Thunder also forced 15 turnovers on Tuesday night, including five from Doncic and four from Kyrie Irving. Irving, who is also an extremely gifted offensive player, scored just 20 points in Game 1 after being hounded by Dort, Williams, Cason Wallace and others.

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