The first quarter of this game and this series is an observation round. No team takes control, despite a good start from Luka Doncic, who will then fade away. The Mavericks lose too many balls to overthrow the Thunder who, for their part, rely on a few long shots to fuel the score (23 everywhere).
The room begins to explode after an 8-0 Oklahoma City run in the second quarter. Like Brandon Ingram before him, Luka Doncic is hampered by Lu Dort and Dallas continues to lose balls. The circle closes for long minutes also for the Mavericks while, opposite, Aaron Wiggins brings points and the Thunder continues the free throws. The dunks of Derrick Jones Jr. and Daniel Gafford limit the damage but at the break, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his gang are in front (62-53).
A 15-2 to validate this success
With an active Daniel Gafford, in attack and defense, and a Luka Doncic who finds good passes, the Mavericks go 11-3 to get closer. But the Thunder reacted immediately with a big defense, a 14-4 and took a fifteen point lead. Dallas goes four minutes without scoring a basket and Kyrie Irving's winning shot at the third quarter buzzer does Jason Kidd's squad a lot of good (89-79).
As since the start of the playoffs, the Mavericks playmaker made his effort in the second half but Jalen Williams responded with two winning shots in a row. Shots fell everywhere, the Thunder went 15-2 and thus folded the affair in Game 1 (117-95), Jason Kidd having decided to empty his bench after this highlight in Oklahoma City.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Too many mistakes in the Dallas game. The Texans were weighed down by a quantity of waste in their game, especially in the first half. Already, they have lost 15 balloons. Then, they committed 21 fouls, giving their opponent too many free throws. Finally, the Thunder was able to take 16 offensive rebounds, then transformed into 25 points on a second chance. In the second period, OKC was clearly on top, but before the break, the gap was not so obvious and with a little more accuracy, Jason Kidd and his players could have resisted better.
– Luka Doncic misses out. He is clearly not at 100% of his means. His runs up the field are slow and even hesitant, and he stays away from the game for long periods. The All-Star started well with 8 points in the first quarter. But then he strayed from the game, mostly putting himself in passer mode in the second period. The Slovenian compiled 19 points and 9 assists, but above all with 5 lost balls, 6/19 shooting and the very clear impression that, because he was diminished, he completely missed out on this meeting.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
