OKLAHOMA CITY — Every section of the Paycom Center was draped in alternating blue and white giveaway T-shirts, an unrelenting crowd reaching its peak midway through the third quarter Tuesday night. The top-seeded Thunder erupted in the second half of their second-round matchup with the Mavericks, sinking a barrage of 3-pointers from across the whitewashed arc en route to a 117-95 Game 1 victory over Dallas.
The pattern should be expected at this point. OKC was the pace of the entire NBA in outside shooting throughout the regular season (38.9%), a key part of the Thunder's rise to the top of the Western Conference standings – despite Oklahoma City fielding the youngest group ever in history took first place in the NBA.
Rivals have been waiting for OKC's inexperience to rear its ugly head at some point during these playoffs. And there was Dallas' star-studded backcourt of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, who led a 12-4 run early in the second half to cut the hosts' lead to single digits. But the thunder, that annoying thunder, held firm. The ball danced around the touchline, be it after drive-and-kicks or through dizzying ball movements. OKC hit six 3-pointers in the third after calling a timeout to stifle Dallas' rushing attack. Thanks to a franchise playoff record 29 assists, the Thunder would finish 16 of 35 from deep.
“It’s a muscle we’ve built at this point,” Thunder head coach Mark Daignealt said. “We had to endure a lot of these situations throughout the season. I think a big part of it comes from respect for the opponent. We know this is a heavyweight fight.”
Oklahoma City kept landing punches. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had two rebounds from distance midway through the third quarter, part of his game-high 29 points. Isaiah Joe, only 24 years old and once given up by Philadelphia, delivered two three-pointers of his own when called upon. Rookie guard Cason Wallace, just 20 years old, was throwing money from the corners. Sophomore guard Jalen Williams struggled, then scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter – most of them during a critical period when Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench.
“I just thought our rhythm was really good in the second half,” Daigneault said. “Really smart offense, good mix of aggression, really taking advantage of what the defense has given us.”
The Mavericks just couldn't keep up. A faster pace benefited Dallas in the first-round game against the Los Angeles Clippers, allowing Irving and Dončić to slip over screens and through gaps in the Clippers' defense to score or fire passes to waiting shooters.
Dončić appeared to be a step slow, almost limping, and needed a break on the stanchion under the basket when a timeout was called not even six full minutes into the first quarter. He has been battling a knee injury since colliding with Los Angeles swingman Terance Mann and made a game-winning decision in the Mavericks' fourth game against the Clippers. Even though Dončić had three days off after Dallas' decisive win on Friday, he didn't have the foundation to run into his own setbacks, which Gilgeous-Alexander managed with ease. When Dončić, in his usual top form, scored his first and only triple of the game, he raised his palms in obvious relief. Dončić made just 1 of 8 from distance and scored 19 points on 6 of 19 shots from the field.
“Who cares? We lost,” Dončić said. “We just have to move on to the next one. I have to be better. We have to be better. We are known for having problems in Game 1.” Dallas is in the first game under head coach Jason Kidd, fresh from a new contract extension, now 0-5. “But we have to focus,” Dončić continued. “They’re a great team, a great defensive team, a great offensive team, so it’s not going to be easy at all .”
Perhaps it was his lack of real threat to jump off the dribble into a shot that benefited OKC's tactical defense. But the Thunder were nothing short of impressive, chasing Dončić over the screens and forcing him under the arc. As such a connoisseur of the pick-and-roll, where the additions of rookie center Dereck Lively and trade deadline acquisition Daniel Gafford have given Dončić's preferred action the necessary air dimension, he didn't manage a single lob on Tuesday. His first alley-oop attempt was sent so high over Chet Holmgren's endless arms that it was too high and too far for Lively to complete, and the ball bounced high off the iron.
Perhaps it was Holmgren's incredible reach, his bony hands blinding Dončić's vision as OKC's standout rookie center loomed to cut off all lanes. “I just try to do everything I can to make it as difficult as possible,” Holmgren said. “It sounds like I’m trying to downplay it for you, but I really don’t. That's all. Just be as active as I can.”
Maybe it was the Thunder's teeming rotations that would see Williams out against Gafford, or maybe Josh Giddey was already in the paint and ready to mark any roller running around like a safety in the middle of a football field. There always seemed to be a Thunder player there to kick the ball free whenever a Dallas big foolishly got it below his hip. Oklahoma City had eight full days to refine every element of its defensive front. “I thought our week of preparation won us tonight,” Daigneault said, “but now we have to close the next gap.”
The Thunder also countered their opponents' physical advantage at one stretch by pairing Holmgren with Arkansas big man Jaylin Williams. “In certain situations we like that look against this team. “We wanted to see everything tonight,” Daigneault said. “We grew up there late. We played different line-ups.”
Whatever combination OKC chose, the defense seemed to work. Dallas scored just five points on 13 possessions, which were completed by a rollman. Two of those points came from a lob from Derrick Jones Jr. to Gafford — not Dončić or Irving — and the others came from Gafford's trips to the foul line.
The Mavericks need Tim Hardaway Jr., once a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, to find his form from the outside. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts while Maxi Kleber, arguably Dallas' most effective floor defender, was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Josh Green came off the bench and made his first two threes, but was just 1 of 6 for the rest of the game. Every time Dončić found Green on the weak side and his shot clattered off the iron, you could see how the Slovenian superstar's optimism faded. Kidd pulled the Mavericks starters back to 22 points with 5:14 to play.
“If you have a great rim protector in Chet, he’s going to make things difficult,” Irving said. “We had a lot of opportunities where we had Chet outside the basket and got our big chances in the pocket, but we just weren't as successful as we needed to be.”
If the Mavs can't produce better results on Thursday, these Thunder are poised to strike a second time and remain in the West's upper echelon for years to come.
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