The fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks are moving on to the Western Conference finals. Despite trailing throughout Game 6, the Mavericks stormed back to win, 117-116, and eliminate the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a game filled with clutch baskets and top-tier defense, but it will be remembered for how it ended.
With the Thunder up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a shooting foul that was not perfectly clear. A coach's challenge supported the call on the floor, letting the Mavs shoot free throws for the win and leaving OKC with less than two seconds to respond. Controversy aside, it was an exciting game through and through as both teams stars lit up the scoreboard.
For Dallas, Luka Doncic dropped a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was helped by Kyrie Irving's 22 points and Derrick Jones Jr.'s 22 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point land. In total, the Mavericks shot 16-of-34 from 3, a 47% clip.
Gilgeous-Alexander put up a valiant effort for his Thunder squad, having scored 36 points, including 4-of-5 from 3. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren each contributed 22 and 21 points, respectively, but it ultimately wasn't enough. OKC lost the rebound battle 47-31 and shot at a 37% clip from 3.
Now, the Mavericks will look toward the winner of Game 7 between the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets and the defense oriented Minnesota Timberwolves.
Thunder vs. Mavericks: Game 6 score
Mavericks 117, Thunder 116
Here are the biggest takeaways from Game 6:
To challenge, or not to challenge?
The decision on whether or not to challenge is never easy. Jason Kidd blew through both of his challenges in the first half, and that cost him the ability to review a key out-of-bounds call late in the fourth that should have gone to Dallas. Mark Daigneault was a bit more conservative with his challenges, but in the closing seconds, he was faced with a nearly impossible choice. Leading by one, Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a foul on P.J. Washington's 3-pointer. Replay showed that he made contact with the ball. Under normal circumstances, that alone would warrant a challenge.
But these weren't normal circumstances. There were only 2.5 seconds left. The Thunder were down to their last timeout, and they'd already won one challenge earlier in the game. That meant that no matter what the result of their challenge was, they would have no way of advancing the ball for their own final shot if they'd needed to. Sure enough, they lost the challenge. Washington made the first two free throws and missed the last one on purpose. The Thunder didn't have time to create a realistic final shot.
What is more valuable in that moment, the chance to take points off of the board, or the assurance that you'll be able to create your own possible game-winner? There's not a right answer without hindsight. We now know Daigneault should have held off. In the moment, that's a much harder call to make. It's one that will sit with the Thunder for the entire offseason.
The Mavericks were just too big
Here is the final rebounding tally for the series:
Mavericks: 271
Thunder: 243
When this series was competitive, it was because the Thunder were finding ways to end possessions. When Dallas ran away with it, it was because of their second chances on offense. The key sequence of this game came with 4:23 remaining and Dallas down four. Irving missed a jumper, but Dereck Lively II rebounded it and was fouled. He made the first and missed the second, but this time, it was Washington who rebounded the miss. He proceeded to tie the game on a 3-pointer. Through offensive rebounding alone, Dallas turned a two-possession game into a tie without ever giving the Thunder possession.
It's easy to wonder what might have been when the Mavericks only had starting center Daniel Gafford in this series because the Thunder facilitated his acquisition. Even Lively made his way to Dallas through a trade with Oklahoma City, though in that case, the Thunder were trading up to land Cason Wallace. Oklahoma City had every opportunity to add the sort of size that might have helped in this series. They chose to use this playoff run as an opportunity to test its young roster. In many ways, it passed. The one major failure was on the boards. Now it's time for the Thunder to address that this offseason.
How much of this was just shooting variance?
Washington shot just 32% from 3-point range this season, a figure that dipped once he was traded to Dallas. Jones is a career 31.6% 3-point shooter. In this series, they combined to shoot 33-of-76, or 43.4%, on 3-pointers. That was the difference in an enormously tight series.
Was some of that schematic? Absolutely. The Thunder put two defenders on the ball whenever Doncic or Irving tried to play pick-and-roll. Their goal was to force Washington and Jones to make 3's. Both of them did it. Those were shots they largely haven't had available to them on other teams. It takes Doncic- and Irving-level shot-creators to get as open as they often were.
But the single biggest question facing the Mavericks as they enter the Western Conference Finals is whether or not those shots are sustainable. If they aren't, it's just hard to imagine them scoring enough to beat Denver or Minnesota unless Doncic or Irving goes nuclear. But the Mavericks seemed to have built their roster on the idea that having Doncic and Irving could make players like Washington and Jones viable. They signed Jones, a nearly All-Defense-caliber defensive wing, for the minimum because no other team could figure out how to get this much out of him on offense. They landed Washington for a single first-round pick because they figured he'd be better on their superior roster than he was on the lowly Hornets.
They've largely been right so far. They'll need to be right for two more series if they hope to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
