It isn’t a whole revenge for his or her elimination from final yr’s NBA playoffs elimination, however the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder received the higher of the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
The Thunder superior to the semifinals of the NBA Cup by stifling the Dallas Mavericks in a 118-104 dwelling win. They are going to face the winner of the Wednesday’s quarterfinal between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.
The win began and ended as a largely depressing day on the fitness center for Mavericks star Luka Dončić, which has change into a recurring story for the Thunder, homeowners of the league’s high defensive score.
The five-time All-Star completed the sport with 16 factors on 5-of-15 taking pictures. At halftime, he had solely two factors on 1-of-7 taking pictures with 4 turnovers. He made his numbers extra respectable within the fourth quarter, however Dallas by no means received nearer than eight factors to OKC.
With their major offensive engine sputtering, the Mavericks yielded far an excessive amount of floor to the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one in every of his finest video games of the season with 39 factors on 15-of-23 taking pictures with eight rebounds, 5 assists and three steals, utterly outplaying his famous person counterpart.
The Thunder entered the quarterfinal because the West’s high seed by advantage of their efficiency in 4 group-play video games and seemed the half because the convention’s high canine. Regardless of nonetheless lacking Chet Holmgren, they totally outplayed the crew that eradicated them within the Western Convention semifinals final yr.
They’re now two wins from greater than $500,000 every in NBA Cup prize cash, however Tuesday was additionally one other encouraging step for his or her greater purpose.
