Mavericks vs. Thunder score: Luka Doncic stops complaining, puts on a smile and carries Dallas to Game 5 win

For all of Luka Doncic's mesmerizing, spectacular, preternatural talent, there has been one infuriatingly glaring flaw in his game over the course of his six-year NBA career: The man just does not stop complaining.

Every shot, drive, dribble or pass is almost inevitably followed by a steely glare and/or choice words for whichever official he felt has wronged him this time. It occasionally makes Doncic -- a wizard with the basketball who does things on a nightly basis that we may never see again in our entire lives -- borderline unwatchable.

In the Dallas Mavericks' 104-92 Game 5 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, however, Doncic shut his mouth, put on a smile and set his team on a path that could soon lead back to the Western Conference finals. After going 6-for-20 from the field and scoring just 18 points in Dallas' devastating Game 4 loss in OKC, Doncic came out calm, assured and decisive on Wednesday night, putting up 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on 12-for-22 shooting. With the performance, he tied LeBron James for the second-most postseason 30-point triple-doubles by a player 25 or younger.

Even those gaudy stats don't do justice to just how great Doncic was, and the best part was that it was accompanied by little to no complaining to officials, which he admitted was by design.

"I just tried to play basketball, just tried to focus on basketball," Doncic said after the game. "Sometimes I forgot this is the thing I love, this is the thing I do. My mental focus was to just go out there and play basketball with a smile on my face and just go."

It hearkened back to a comment Doncic made back in 2019 -- a prescient one, given what's transpired in the conference semifinals over five years later: "A lot of times when I don't smile, when I'm not having fun playing the game, then I play bad. I think that's a little bit of a secret for me."

Playing "bad" is certainly a relative term for Doncic, but his numbers for the series entering Game 5 -- 24 points per game on 42/35/68 shooting splits, were a far cry from the player we saw finish third in the MVP voting after his best regular season yet. That all changed on Wednesday, however, and you could tell what kind of night it was going to be after one early play.

Fewer than four minutes into the game, Doncic dribbled to his left, stopped on a dime and drew contact with Thunder wing Jalen Williams. As NBA players are prone to do, Doncic anticipated what he thought would be a foul call and threw up a wild, one-handed shot ... which happened to go in.

When no call was made, everyone familiar with Doncic's usual demeanor likely expected him to spin around, jump up and down, shout at any ref in sight and fail to get back on defense. Instead, Doncic threw up a slight shrug while jogging back, choosing to move on to the next play rather than dwell on a presumed missed call.

There were many more plays like this throughout the night, where Doncic's knee-jerk reaction in the past has been to pout and complain. His restraint during Game 5 trickled down to his teammates, who played with the poise and confidence that has prevented them from losing consecutive games so far this postseason. In fact, the most Doncic yelled all night was at his own coaching staff, when he successfully lobbied them to challenge a foul call in the fourth quarter.

Basketball-wise, Doncic was nearly perfect. It wasn't just his hot shooting, but his total control of the game. He got to his spots, never played in a rush and saw the game three steps ahead of the defense at every turn. Just look at this three-quarter court lob to big man Dereck Lively II, which Doncic throws toward the rim when Lively is still well outside the paint.

As if his offensive exploits weren't enough, Doncic also came up with the game's biggest defensive play down the stretch, blocking Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's layup attempt with just under a minute left. The Mavericks have now held OKC to 101 or fewer points in three straight games.

This was one of the best in a long line of standout playoff performances in Doncic's career thus far, and it gives Dallas a chance to close out the series at home in Saturday's Game 6. A win would put the Mavericks back in the Western Conference finals for the second time in three seasons, an impressive turnaround after missing the postseason entirely last year.

Like every great athlete, Doncic plays with passion that's hard for mere mortals to comprehend, which undoubtedly leads to his constant chirping at officials. There's no way he's going to halt that behavior entirely, but Wednesday night's game showed him, his team and the rest of the NBA exactly how unstoppable Doncic can be when he channels all of that intensity into the right place.

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FINAL: Mavericks 104, Thunder 92

(Dallas leads series, 3-1)

In a dominant performance from start to finish, the Mavericks beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The story of the game was Luka Doncic, who bounced back from a rough Game 4 to put on a spectacular performance. Every time Dallas needed a big shot, they knew Doncic would create one for himself or a teammate. The Mavericks were able to win despite relatively modest production from Kyrie Irving, which should give them confidence heading into Game 6.

On the other side, OKC had trouble generating points all night long. Outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who can create his own shot seemingly whenever he wants, the Thunder simply couldn't find anyone to provide consistent offense. As a team, they shot 25% from 3-point range.

The Mavs will try to earn a trip to the Western Conference finals in Game 6 on Saturday back in Dallas.

Notable stats:

  • Luka Doncic: 31 pts, 11 ast, 10 reb, 12-22 FG
  • Derrick Jones Jr.: 19 pts, 7-9 FG
  • Kyrie Irving: 12 pts, 4 ast, 5-11 FG
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 30 pts, 8 ast, 6 reb, 12-22 FG
  • Jalen Williams: 12 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl
  • Chet Holmgren: 13 pts, 4 reb
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OKC running out of time

The Thunder aren't just playing against the Mavericks at this point, they're also playing against the clock. They're going to need to score on pretty much every possession while limiting Dallas to one shot defensively.

 
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End of 3rd quarter - Mavericks 79, Thunder 67

Despite a slight push from OKC, the Mavericks maintained control in the third quarter and look poised to take a 3-2 series lead back to Dallas. If the Thunder are going to make another comeback, it's going to take more cohesion and dynamism on the offensive end. They've yet to score more than 23 points in a quarter so far, and they trail by 12 entering the fourth. The math isn't in their favor.

Notable stats:

  • Luka Doncic: 23 pts, 8 ast, 8 reb, 9-16 FG
  • Derrick Jones Jr.: 15 pts, 6-8 FG
  • Kyrie Irving: 12 pts, 3 ast, 5-10 FG
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 24 pts, 5 ast, 4 reb, 10-18 FG
  • Lu Dort: 9 pts, 1-5 3P
  • Chet Holmgren: 7 pts, 2-7 FG
 
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OKC gaining life?

It seems like if the Thunder are going to make their run, they've got to do it now. Who knows how long Luka Doncic will stay on the bench, but they've gotten some stops and converted on the other end to keep the deficit about where it was at halftime. They're going to need to keep it going, however, and the Thunder desperately need someone besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to step up offensively.

 
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Halftime - Mavericks 54, Thunder 44

The Mavs absolutely dominated the second quarter, building their lead to as many as 15 points, but OKC went on a mini-surge to get it to 10 heading into the locker room. Luka Doncic is having perhaps his best game of the playoffs, while the Thunder offense has been clunky at best, bailed out by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's ability to generate points seemingly out of nothing.

Notable stats:

  • Luka Doncic: 17 pts, 7 ast, 6 reb, 7-11 FG
  • Derrick Jones Jr.: 15 pts, 6-6 FG
  • Kyrie Irving: 7 pts, 2 ast, 3-6 FG
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 10 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 5-10 FG
  • Lu Dort: 9 pts, 1-5 3P
  • Chet Holmgren: 7 pts, 3 reb
 
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Mavs offense clicking

Alley-oops, wide-open 3s, transition buckets. The Mavericks have been doing it all offensively in the second quarter, and are now at 56% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc for the game. It couldn't be more of the opposite for OKC, who is struggling to put anything consistent together -- shooting 36% from the field and going 5 for 17 from 3-point range. Isaiah Joe, who started in place of Josh Giddey, has gone 1 for 3 from long distance and is minus-seven for the game.

 
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What a pass from Luka

 
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Luka taking over

 
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End of 1st quarter - Mavericks 24, Thunder 22

In what looks like another defensive battle in the making, the Mavericks have been the more successful team offensively early on, shooting 48% from the field compared to OKC's 39%. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have combined to go 4 for 8 from the field, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is just 2 for 6. Derrick Jones Jr. has been the X-factor so far.

Notable stats:

  • Derrick Jones Jr.: 10 pts, 1 stl, 4-4 FG
  • Luka Doncic: 8 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3-5 FG
  • Kyrie Irving: 2 pts, 1-3 FG
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 4 pts, 3 ast, 2-6 FG
  • Lu Dort: 5 pts, 1-5 3P
 
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Jones Jr. skies for the slam

 
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OKC hitting the glass

The Thunder already have five offensive rebounds, and it's keeping them in the game early on. They've only been able to convert them into three second-chance points, but the extra possessions are at least giving the Mavericks fewer opportunities to score. As a result, OKC has 18 field goal attempts compared to Dallas' 15 -- a ratio they'd like to build upon as the game continues.

 
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DJJ early difference-maker

Pretty much every playoff game hinges on the performance of the superstars and at least one role player who steps up. So far in Game 5 it's been Derrick Jones Jr., who's knocked down both of his 3-point attempts and a floater for eight points to go along with a steal and a block. For everything that Jones brings defensively, it's a major bonus when he's playing this well on the offensive end. It forces OKC to at least contend with him, which opens things up for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to go to work.

 
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OKC changes starting five

After much speculation, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has finally decided to pull the trigger on a starting lineup change, inserting Isaiah Joe in the place of Josh Giddey -- who is a team-worst minus-22 in 53 minutes this series. By contrast, Joe is a plus-seven in 68 minutes. Giddey has gone just 2 of 11 from 3-point range in the series, creating spacing issues that Daigneault hopes to remedy with sharpshooter Joe, who knocked down 42% from deep on the season and is 6 for 13 in the series.

The trade-off for Joe's shooting potentially comes on the defensive end, where replacing the 6-7 Giddey with the 6-3 Joe decreases OKC's length across the board. That being said, Giddey found himself being hunted quite a bit during the series, so Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will now likely set their sights on Joe.