OKLAHOMA CITY – Considering the Thunder’s youth and this roster’s relative postseason inexperience, the Paycom Center boasts nothing less than an experienced second-round environment. There are playoff remnants everywhere you look – a white Kevin Durant jersey seen during an afternoon walk through Scissortail Park, the fence around a parking lot between 2nd Street and Hudson Avenue has rusted away much of its blue paint. Thunder. This crowd coordinated their free jerseys in 11 of the last 15 playoffs and mocked Luka Dončić all Thursday night like it was second nature.
The boos and taunts are nothing new for Dončić either. He can channel all that noise, like he’s charging his battery for an extra burst of throws and punches. He wants his hate. He might even need it some nights. “Every game is for him,” Mavericks forward PJ Washington said. “He’s just being himself out there.” After a dismal performance on Tuesday by Dončić’s lofty standards — the NBA announced he finished third in MVP voting between Games 1 and 2 — he had a bounce in his legs and a growl to accompany his retreat from the initial tip. As the arena erupted with an even louder second chorus of “Luka sucks!” with just under six minutes remaining, he drilled a 17-foot jumper over Thunder huckster Luguentz Dort and then capped off his final bucket in Dallas’ 119-110 win by yelling “Luka what?” to the furious sea of detractors. He realized at that moment that the Mavericks were going to tie this series at 1-1.
“Today was one of the most difficult games I had to play,” said Dončić. “I’m fighting out there. I’m trying to do my best to help the team win.”
He faced Dort for much of the battle before Thunder rookie Cason Wallace did his best to deny Dončić even a touch of the ball. Jalen Williams spent some time with Dončić, but it didn’t really matter which OKC quarterback was spending time with him. After going 1-of-8 from beyond the arc on Tuesday, Dončić made four from distance in the first quarter alone, to the point of throwing a nasty heat check, an especially long step back from the left side, only to raise his finger mea culpa as he returned to defense. He admitted the obstacles to finding strength in his legs while dealing with a knee injury and cut ankles, but Dončić drilled five points on the way to 29 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
“I was happy I at least hit a couple of threes. I was very happy,” said Dončić. “I was just trying to focus on my balance. My throwing balance wasn’t good. [in Game 1]. So I was just trying to focus on that and when I get my balance back the kick usually goes in.
His first triple came on a rope pass from Washington. While Dallas has two of the game’s greatest ball handlers in Dončić and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks designed their first possessions to operate through Washington outside the post. “We wanted to see something different,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And it worked.” Washington found Daniel Gafford first, then Dončić at the top of the bracket, and then Maverick after Maverick found Washington in return. He was absolutely dangerous in the corners. On one of the first sequences, Dončić tap danced another step back, then faked his head around his defender, only to fire a football pass straight into Washington’s throwing pocket. That may have caught every player by surprise except the 6-foot-1 forward that Dallas acquired from Charlotte before the February trade deadline. “I always know that at any moment the ball could come my way,” Washington said.
Washington finished with 29 points, tying a career-high seven 3-pointers made. The Hornets’ numbers already felt like Washington had a tendency to disappear during critical moments. Now, Dončić and Washington are the first pair of teammates in NBA history to score more than 25 points, grab at least 10 rebounds and drain at least five from beyond the arc. “We went to him on the first play,” Dončić said of Washington. “We have to do this more. We have to give him more ball.”
OKC hasn’t surrendered more than 95 points in any of the first five games of these playoffs, all of which were wins. Dallas recorded 99 at the end of the third quarter on Thursday. It wasn’t just Dončić and Washington. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a fruitless night in Game 1, only to put up 17 points off the bench in this second round. Josh Green connected on 3 of 5 from deep. The Mavericks converted 18 of 37 from beyond the arc, scoring 24 more points than the Thunder on 3-point shots, while many of OKC’s shots in the fourth quarter were wildly off – perhaps revealing some semblance of nervousness that the nascent Thunder had struggled with. off until now.
Irving played a major role — freeing up dribbles, jumping into passing lanes, scoring two blocks — in frustrating OKC’s high-octane offense. After beating James Harden six games in the first round, Irving was also all over the place against the Thunder. It’s a true rarity to witness a microwave marker turn up the heat defensively with the same ease. “He accepted the challenge,” Kidd said.
With stops and steals, Dallas was able to run at the pace preferred by the Mavericks employees. Dončić may be at his best, slowly probing and probing the double teams that OKC throws his way, but the folks in Dallas believe this lineup is maximized when its defense translates into breakout opportunities when Irving is jumping a three-point pass. quarters of the court for Hardaway Jr., when Dončić is throwing lobs down the line.
“We tried to go over the speed limit tonight,” Kidd said. “We are below the speed limit. We were more in the school zone.”
They will return to Dallas for Saturday’s Game 3, expecting another counterattack from Oklahoma City. The Thunder registered even more of their great lineup duo with Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams in this one compared to the teams’ first meeting. Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault switched lanky swingman Aaron Wiggins to the second-half starter in place of Josh Giddey. This confrontation and these adjustments have only just begun.
“They’re not going to stop attacking you,” Irving said. “We just need to be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
