Doncic scores 29 points as the Mavericks beat the Thunder 119-110 to tie the series at 1-1

OKLAHOMA CITY — Luka Doncic limped around the court, often grimacing as he played with a sprained right knee and a bleeding left knee.

His shooting stroke was unaffected. He had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 on Thursday night and even reach the Western Conference semifinals at one win apiece.

“I think it was one of the hardest games I’ve had to play,” Doncic said. “I’m fighting trying to do my best to help the team win.”

The Thunder held Doncic to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in Game 1. He made 11 of 21 field goals in Game 2. All the while, he had frequent conversations with the referees — enough to draw the ire of Thunder fans. Thunder, who booed him and directed chants in his direction.

“That’s great for me,” he said. “I loved it.”

PJ Washington had 29 points and 11 rebounds and made 7 of 11 3-point shots for the Mavericks. He averaged 12.9 points in the regular season.

“I thought P.J. set the tone,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “We played him in the post a little bit and I think that woke him up. He was big for us tonight.

Kyrie Irving had nine points and 11 assists for the fifth-place Mavericks, who host Game 3 on Saturday after taking advantage of the Thunder’s home-field advantage.

Doncic hopes the Thunder are prepared.

“They have great players,” Doncic said. “They have great chemistry, a great team. And it will be difficult. It will be a fight until the end. So, a lot of respect for Oklahoma (City), but it’s a big moment for us to win this game.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder, who lost for the first time in the postseason and allowed more than 100 points for the first time in their six playoff games.

The Mavericks played with desperation, just as they did in the first round, when they beat the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 and took their court.

“I feel like it was a game we should win,” Washington said. “And I feel like those games are where we play our best.”

Doncic hit his first three shots and scored eight points in the first three minutes to help Dallas take a 13-2 lead. He scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first quarter, but the Thunder had the game in the quarter. Oklahoma City put it under the Dallas goal with 1.4 seconds remaining. Jaylin Williams threw to Chet Holmgren, who caught the ball while being guarded by two Mavericks in traffic, turned around and hit a long 2-point jumper to cut Dallas’ lead to 36-32.

Dallas led 68-62 at halftime. Both teams made 25 of 47 shots before halftime, but Dallas made 12 3s to Oklahoma City’s six.

Oklahoma City tied it at 70 on a Gilgeous-Alexander baseline jumper two minutes into the second half. Aaron Wiggins, who started the second half in place of Josh Giddey, scored from close range to give the Thunder a 72-71 lead, their first lead of the game.

Dallas recovered, especially with Doncic resting. After he returned, his layup for a Derrick Jones Jr. dunk put the Mavericks up 99-85 late in the third quarter, and they took a 99-89 lead into the fourth.

A powerful two-handed dunk from Williams cut Dallas’ lead to 99-95, but the Mavericks responded. Doncic took advantage of a Dereck Lively II screen and hit a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 104-95 with nine minutes left. The Thunder never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

“We have a very good opponent who played very well tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. I thought our effort was really good tonight. I thought we tried to prepare this a few times. I thought where we left something to be desired was the execution.”

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