Today, just before midnight, the NBA plans to announce the winner of the regular season MVP. Nikola Jokic starts as a finalist, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic being the other two finalists for the award, two players who opened the Western conference semifinals this morning. Dallas and Thunder met in Oklahoma in the first game of the series and the Canadian team was much superior. Shai, accompanied by Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, have made it 1-0 in the series after a huge reaction in the second half to Dallas’ comeback. And again, for the fifth series in a row, the Mavericks start by losing the first game. The Thunder became the youngest team to win a conference semifinal game.
And one of the keys was the level of Luka Doncic. The Slovenian was far from his best version, with 19 points on 19 shots (6/19, with 1/8 in triples and 6/10 in free throws) in addition to 5 turnovers. He accompanied with 9 assists and 6 rebounds, insufficient against the #1 in the West. Kyrie Irving scored 20, not much of a difference against the Thunder’s big-3. Shai was the best with 29 points, and both Chet (19 with 7 rebounds) and Jalen Williams (18 points) were able to contribute in a team where the bench, with 16 points from Aaron Wiggins and 11 from Jaylin Williams, was one of the big differences.
A match that was very physical. Luka Doncic, who has been suffering from discomfort since the start of the playoffs, injured his ankle after defending a three-pointer from Lu Dort, but it didn’t serve as an excuse. “Who cares? We lost. I have to be better, we have to be better. They are a great team and it’s not going to be easy,” the former Real Madrid player summed up resignedly in his appearance before the press.
But Doncic wasn’t the only one who got hurt. Jalen Williams ran to the locker room in the third quarter and Shai hurt his ankle after a bad movement in the first game of a series that is expected to be long and demanding, something that neither the Pelicans nor the Clippers could achieve in the first round. The referees did not allow much contact in the first half, with Oklahoma going to the line 22 times (to Dallas’ 13), but when the physical level increased, the Thunder became very strong. And after an even start, the second half of the game marked the game. And a clue as to where the series can go.
From 40-38 at halftime, Oklahoma finished with a 22-15 run to open a double-digit lead for the first time. Only a dunk by Daniel Gafford, one of the few good news for Dallas in the first half, lowered it from a 10. The interior was physical with Holmgren becoming big in the paint, and Jason Kidd, in his first game after the renewal, made the decision to change the defensive settings: Gafford would take care of Giddey, without an outside threat, and PJ Washington would dance the entire second half with the rookie. It seemed to work out, with a 9-0 run that put the Mavericks within just one point in the third quarter, but Oklahoma’s response was immediate: five triples almost in a row to open up a 13-point lead. And the pavilion about to explode. A 5-0 left the distance at 10 to open the last quarter.
Which has been Kyrie Irving territory in the first round, but this time against the best team. Because the Thunder achieved the best differential against New Orleans in the last twelve minutes of the game, in part because of Jalen Williams. He had scored only 8 points in the game, the same ones he scored in the first minutes of the last quarter, and finished with 18 in total. Next to him, the rotation of Some Thunder scored a 17-2 run that served as a dagger for both Kidd and Mark Daigneault to remove the starters from the court.. Let’s think about Wednesday, when the series resumes. And we will know if Luka or Shai are the new NBA MVP.
Results of the night
THE REST OF THE DAY
Derrick White is still on a roll
The semifinals begin for Boston as the first round did: with a beating. Brad Stevens’ team crushed Cleveland in a textbook second half, led by Derrick White (25 points, seven triples) and Jaylen Brown (32 points, 12/18 shooting). They came out as favorites and for now they deliver, against the Cavaliers who came without rest after winning the seventh game on Sunday against Orlando. Donovan Mitchell continued at a very high level, proving to be an offensive reference in the NBA with 33 points, but he was very alone in the attack of Cleveland, which scored 34 points in the first quarter and 61 in the rest of the game. To which Boston’s defense adjusted, the game was over. When the triples entered, the difference multiplied.
Because in the first half the Celtics had made only six three-pointers, one less than they made in the third quarter (7/15), including Payton Pritchard’s one at the buzzer to close the quarter. And the +15, despite Mitchell’s physical effort, was a reality of the difference between both teams. In the end there were 18 triples and a 25-point difference, too much for the Cavaliers who, without Jarrett Allen, had no chance of competing. Boston was also missing Kristaps Porzingis, who is not expected to play in this second round, although he could return for the conference finals if the Celtics continue winning, like this morning. Something very likely seeing the level shown in the first six games.
It was Jayson Tatum’s 100th game in the playoffs, surpassing Marc Gasol, and he is already part of the 50 top scorers in history. Only Celtics legend Larry Bird had more points than JT in his first 100 games, and the Boston forward had a miserable night in front of the basket. The 7/19 in the shot (with 0/5 in the triple) did not prevent him from lavishing in defense, with 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocksteam leader in all sections.
