NBA Playoffs: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander powers Thunder’s rally against Mavs to tie series 2-2

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t get much offensive help from his teammates on Monday night.

He didn’t need it.

The Thunder All-Star powered a comeback from a 14-point first-half deficit to lead Oklahoma City to a 100-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. With the victory, the Thunder tied the Western Conference semifinals series at 2-2 to avoid returning to Oklahoma City on the brink of elimination.

In a tough game for both teams, Gilgeous-Alexander was the star of the show on offense with 34 points. He helped lead the Thunder from a 22-8 first-quarter deficit, then powered a 9-0 fourth-quarter run that put the Thunder up 89-86. Oklahoma City did not follow again.

The Thunder struggled much of the night against a suffocating Dallas defense that repeatedly challenged Oklahoma City’s efforts in the paint. But Gilgeous-Alexander thrived while All-Stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving struggled on offense for the Mavericks.

Dončić had a chance to tie the game from the free throw line in the final seconds. But he missed a two-shot attack with Dallas trailing, 96-94, with 10.1 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander iced the game with a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to secure the four-point victory.

Fueled by PJ Washington and a dominant early effort in the paint, Dallas took control early. The Mavericks led 30-20 in the first quarter and 54-43 at halftime. The Mavericks did much of their early work on the boards with a 13-5 first-quarter rebounding advantage and a 22-17 halftime lead.

But the Thunder stifled Dallas’ offense in the third quarter, limiting the Mavericks to 15 points in the stanza. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the quarter as the Thunder finished 22-12, cutting their deficit to 69-65 early in the quarter.

Dallas held the lead for most of the fourth quarter until Gilgeous-Alexander took control of the game in the final six minutes. He scored eight straight Thunder points while repeatedly hitting contested shots to get the Thunder back into the game.

His baseline float over Tim Hardaway Jr. and Washington tied the game at 86-86.

A Chet Holmgren 3 on an assist from Gilgeous-Alexander then capped a 9-0 run gave the Thunder their first lead since 4-2 in the first quarter at 89-86. They didn’t give up that lead.

This story will be updated.