Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic gave credit to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after their 110-96 loss against Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He scored 10 points and added 4 assists in the fourth quarter as he played a key role in his team’s win to level the Western Conference semifinals 2-2.
“There’s some points in the game I’m doing the same thing you guys are doing — just kind of being a fan of what he’s doing and when some of those shots go in, just kind of making a face like, ‘That’s crazy,’” said Thunder center Chet Holmgren, who had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.
“But he’s been doing it all year. I’ve seen him do it since I got here, and that’s just who he is. Tough-shot maker, but he does a lot more out there for us than just that.”
The Thunder were trailing by 14 points at one point but they bounced back strongly in the second half. They out-scored the Mavericks by 22-15 in the third quarter and dominated the final frame by 35-27.
“He was unbelievable,” Mavs superstar Luka Doncic said for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “He kept making shots and maybe at some point we gotta send double teams. He’s just too good.”
Meanwhile, Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 27 points on 10-of-31 shooting and thus could not bring their best to the court. Furthermore, Dallas made only 12 of 23 free throws (at 52%), compared to 23 of 24 for Oklahoma City.
“It’s unacceptable,” said Doncic, who had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. “We gotta be better.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault lauded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for finding his teammates, at the right time and with the right space.
“He obviously took that thing by the horns there late, but he had an unbelievable blend and really found his teammates on a lot of plays,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “And continued to find them. The shot Chet hit, the shot Lu hit that he sprayed to them — that’s him passing the ball in critical time. Down 2-1 in the fourth quarter, and the team is shooting 20-something percent from 3, that’s just unbelievable trust and confidence for him to rise to that in that moment. And for a young ambitious star player, I was blown away by those plays.”
The fifth game of the series will be played on Wednesday.
