A Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-inspired, fourth-quarter burst spurred the Thunder to a 100-96 Game 4 win over the Mavericks in Dallas to tie their Western Conference Semi Finals series at two games apiece.
The league’s second-highest MVP vote getter, Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for his young Thunder squad pouring on 34 points with 10 coming in the final frame to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
The Thunder found themselves trailing by as many as 14 early in the third quarter before the West’s No.1 seed crafted an extended 43-29 run to roar back into the contest and tie things up with a tick over four minutes to play.
Two big threes courtesy of Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort then saw them snatch their first lead since early in the opening quarter.
Poor free throw shooting down the stretch killed any hopes of a Mavericks escape as the Thunder held on for a crucial win.
Gilgeous-Alexander was flanked by Holmgren (18 pts, 9 reb, 4 blk) and Dort (17 pts, 8 reb) whilst Josh Giddey (5 pts, 2/8 FG) and Jalen Williams (14 pts, 5/19 FG) struggled through substandard nights.
Despite losing the rebounding and paint battle, the Thunder were able to stay in it thanks in part to the 19 points they managed off 13 Dallas turnovers to go along with their strong free throw shooting (23-of-24 vs. 12-of-23).
P.J. Washington (21 pts, 12 reb, 5/11 3P) again stepped up as a surprise scoring leader for the Mavs along with Derrick Jones Jr. (17 pts, 4 blk, 7/12 FG).
Luka Dončić (18 pts, 7 tov, 6/20 FG) and Kyrie Irving (9 pts, 4/11 FG) were both poor for Dallas.
The scene of the series now shifts back to Oklahoma City on Thursday for an all-important Game 5.
