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The 2023-24 season has been a great one for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who got back to the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference. But it’s at the risk of coming to an end in the second round against the Dallas Mavericks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company aren’t ready for their offseason to begin. They have to win Game 6 to keep going.
The Thunder lost Game 5 on their home court by a final score of 104-92. Luka Doncic sealed the game with a transition block on SGA and recorded 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Four other Mavs scored in double figures, including Derrick Jones Jr., who scored a new playoff career-high 19 points. SGA had his own stat-stuffing night (30 points, eight assists, six rebounds) and four other teammates who scored in double figures. But the Mavs’ hot shooting uplifted them to the win.
The series now heads back to Dallas with the Mavs in a position to win it. Gilgeous-Alexander explained that the team’s mentality and desire to keep winning isn’t changing. As is the case for all playoff teams, they’re looking to take things one game at a time.
SGA on the team’s mentality heading into Game 6 pic.twitter.com/1peDVx6lBw
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 16, 2024
“It’ll be fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Our mood won’t change. Our mentality won’t change. It’s one game at a time. We wanted to win this game tonight as [badly] as we’re gonna want to win the next game and the next game. So, I don’t think it’ll change too much.”
The Thunder may be a very young squad but they know a thing or two about fighting out of unfavorable situations. SGA pointed to how they had the most double-digit comebacks in the NBA during the regular season. While the challenge is obviously different now, the circumstances are similar: OKC is fighting to get out of a hole.
Thunder feel confident ahead of Game 6 vs. Mavs, per Jalen Williams
Jalen Williams admitted that the task ahead is going to be very tough, according to Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire. But OKC has been rising above its expectations all season long.
“Confident like we have all year,” Williams said of the team’s mentality heading into Game 6, via Thunder Wire. “There’s a lot we can take away from this past game that was really good… We know it’s a tough task going over there and winning.”
Williams could be the one to turn the tides in the Thunder’s favor. While he is second on the team in scoring in this series, his 16.0 points per game are a step down from the 19.1 that he averaged during the regular season. His scoring efficiency is way down. If he steps up and provides a consistent scoring punch next to SGA, it would go a long way in keeping up with Doncic, co-star Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington, who’s averaging 19.4 points per game in this series.
OKC will also decide if it wants to keep its new starting lineup with Isaiah Joe in place of Josh Giddey. Joe shot a poor 2-9 from the field in Game 5 while Giddey notched 11 points on 5-8 shooting in 11 minutes. Keeping his minutes scaled down is still an understandable move for the Thunder but they have to figure out the right lineups to put out there.
The Thunder beat the Mavs in the last showdown at the American Airlines Center. They’ll look to do it again on Saturday at 8:00 PM EST.
More must-reads:
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- The 'Most three-pointers made in the playoffs' quiz
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