OKC eliminates Doncic, Irving moves into the NBA Cup semifinals

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said he spent “all day” thinking about his Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff exit to the Mavericks last spring, then single-handedly outdueled Dallas’ star duo on Tuesday night .

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 39-point effort in the Thunder’s 118-104 victory over the Mavs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, which clinched the Thunder’s ticket to Las Vegas, was the kind of performance that can fuel an MVP campaign .

But Gilgeous-Alexander credited some of his teammates — Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace — for surpassing the point totals of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They were the star defenders for the Mavs, who finished the game with 33 points.

“Damn good work by Lu and Cason,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s more impressive for them to keep it that low than for me to get 39 points. I think keeping those two points so low really gave us a chance to win the game. That made us feel like we were in control of the game. “To keep these two in check like that is very rare.”

According to ESPN Research, it was actually the lowest total Doncic and Irving scored during a regular-season game while playing together as teammates.

Doncic, who has repeatedly cited Dort as one of the league’s top three fullbacks over the years, had 16 points on 5 of 15 shooting and had more turnovers (6) than assists (5). All but two of his 15 shot attempts were closely contested, a rate of 87% that was the highest in any of Doncic’s games this season, according to Second Spectrum tracking.

“There’s a reason they’re the number one defensive team in the league,” Doncic said. “They have great defensive players. They decided to double me every time, so credit goes to them. I mean, they played really, really, really good defense today.”

According to Second Spectrum, the Thunder hit Doncic on 13 of the 27 ball screens he used. This 48% blitz rate is the highest of any player who has had at least 20 throws this season.

Irving was only able to score 17 points on 7 of 14 shots from the floor. Irving, like Doncic, had just eight points early in the fourth quarter when the Mavs trailed by 17.

Oklahoma City forced 19 Dallas turnovers and turned them into 36 points. The Thunder had 14 steals, including three by Gilgeous-Alexander, which tied for the team.

“They do a great job of getting you into situations on the court, and then they want the basketball to find other players on their team,” Irving said. “When you’re forced to do that every single possession, that’s what creates success. Most of the time (when not) they prevent us from getting quality looks – whether it’s me and Luka – and they want it to look different.” Guys. This is the NBA game. Now you want to get the ball out of the hands of the best ball handlers or the best scorers and let everyone else decide.

The Thunder used a similar strategy in the Western Conference semifinal series last season, holding Doncic and Irving to a combined 40.2 points per game, well below their average. The Mavs’ standout players made the Thunder pay, especially forward PJ Washington, who averaged 17.7 points and shot 46.9% from 3-point range in the series.

Washington, who had 27 points and 17 rebounds in the Mavs’ road win over the Thunder earlier this season, did not play Tuesday due to illness.

After the Mavs opened the game with an 8-0 run, Gilgeous-Alexander took control and scored 16 points in the first quarter. The Thunder took the lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter and never relinquished it.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored another 16 points in the third quarter as the Thunder extended their lead to double digits.

“It’s just often difficult to stop him,” Doncic said. “I think at some point you have to send two or three players (at Gilgeous-Alexander). It’s great to play against a guy like that, just the fights. It’s fun and he’s a great player.”

Gilgeous-Alexander, who also had eight rebounds and five assists, shot 15 of 23 from the floor. That included 5 of 9 from 3-point range, a facet of the game he worked to develop in the offseason.

“Shai has been preparing defenses all year, you know what I mean?” Irving said. “Nothing new. You can tell he’s added that 3-point shot to his game, that step back that gives him another threat to the game he has now. So again, these young guys, that’s going to change into one of these teams that we’re going to see – just like Memphis – where we’re going to be competing with them as the season goes on.”

The Thunder, the youngest No. 1 team in NBA history last season, were considered favorites to win the conference this season after signing coveted role players Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso in the offseason. Oklahoma City travels to Las Vegas at the top of the West standings with a record of 19-5.

But the Mavs remain the reigning Western Conference champions, a fact that motivates Gilgeous-Alexander.

“They came from the West last year,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I guess that means they are the best Western team. We all know how tough the West is and I respect them. I took this opportunity to get better. I took this opportunity to see if I had gotten better and to really test myself against the best.”