Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks look to bounce back in Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder today.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) came out in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals with another win, remaining undefeated in the playoffs, behind another strong game from their young roster. The young stars of Oklahoma City led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalin Williams and Chet Holmgren have had 536 of the teams 538 points this postseason scored by players 25 years old or younger. In Game 1 Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 29 points, nine assists and nine rebounds to pace the offense all game leading Oklahoma City to its fifth straight playoff win and 10th straight win leading back to the regular season.
How to Watch Mavericks at Thunder Game 2 today:
Game Date: May 9, 2024
Game Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live stream Playoffs: Mavericks at Thunder on Fubo: Start with your free trial today!
Gilgeous-Alexander and the young roster have been impressive to start the postseason on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end. In five games this postseason Oklahoma has allowed less than 100 points and in seven of the last 10 games overall dating back to the regular season.
For Dallas, the Game 1 loss was the teams worst overall game of the postseason. Luka Doncic finished with just 19 points, his lowest point total of the postseason this year and just the third game in his playoff career with less than 20 points scored. Over the last four games Doncic has 15 turnovers and is a combined 5-35 from three (14.3%) playing arguably his worst stretch of the season.
That opens the door for Kyrie Irving to step-up early and often here in Game 2 to try and even up the series. He finished Game 1 with just 20 points and three assists on 7-14 shooting. Through seven games this postseason Irving is averaging just 6.1 shot attempts per game and 6.4 points per game in the first half of games, 19.1 points per game and 11.7 shot attempts in the second half as he continues to play off of Doncic and build their chemistry.
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