Mussatto: Thunder facing first true adversity in NBA playoffs after Game 2 loss to Mavs
The Thunder’s steamboat cruise through New Orleans is over. Time to buckle in, because the 1-35 series won’t be as smooth.
The Thunder hit its first pothole of the playoffs, losing 119-110 to the Mavericks on Thursday night at Paycom Center. The Western Conference semifinal series will head south tied at one game a piece.
Sometimes basketball is simple. If a team shoots 49% (18-of-37) from 3-point range, as the Mavericks did Thursday, that team is going to be awfully tough to beat.
The Thunder played fine, but the Mavericks were on fire.
And now we have ourselves a series. Now we’re about to see how the young Thunder reacts to real playoff pressure. True adversity.
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Mark Daigneault, like the rest of us, is curious to see how the Thunder responds.
“Curious, but confident,” Daigneault said. “I’m not sitting here wondering. This is a team that’s made a habit of getting back up. We keep a pretty steady temperament through the ups and downs of the season, and this is just part of the deal.
“This is the playoffs. Playing against really good teams. These are deep waters. You’re gonna throw some punches, you’re gonna take some punches, and now we’ve gotta eat one, get back to zero tomorrow and be a better team in Game 3.”
The superstars offset each other Thursday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played 41 minutes and 12 seconds. Luka Doncic played 41 minutes and 11 seconds. SGA had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Shai shot 54%. Luka shot 52%.
They were themselves.
It was the outlier performances that pushed Dallas over the top.
PJ Washington, SGA’s old Kentucky teammate, shot 7-of-11 from 3-point range as part of a 29-point, 11-rebound, four-assist night. Josh Green was 3-of-5 from three and Tim Hardaway Jr. was clutch with 17 points in 19 minutes.
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Kyrie Irving did more facilitating (11 assists) than scoring (nine points).
The team shooting numbers were nearly identical. Dallas was 42-of-90, OKC was 42-of-89. But 18 of the Mavericks’ makes came from behind the arc while the Thunder shot just 10-of-30.
Chet Holmgren was 1-of-6 from 3-point range. Jalen Williams wasn’t his efficient self, but outside of SGA, J-Dub was the only Thunder starter who was a reliable source of offense.
Josh Giddey was 0-of-2, playing just 11 minutes Thursday — and not starting the second half — after a rough Game 1 showing. From a tactical standpoint, how the Thunder deploys Giddey for the rest of the series is the biggest question.
But Giddey’s clunky play isn’t what lost the Thunder Game 2.
The Mavericks made their 3-pointers. The Thunder didn’t.
And now we get to see how the Thunder responds to its first taste of postseason disappointment. Its first loss in more than a month.
OKC’s sweep of New Orleans shouldn’t be discounted, but Luka’s Mavs are a different beast than the Zion-less Pels.
The playoffs just got real.
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Tip-ins
Hubie Brown was on the call for ESPN. Brown is 90 years old. Brown was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 — three years before Oklahoma City had an NBA team.
Speaking of legends, Red Panda was in the house. Before the game, I made the mistake of saying the bowl-flipping unicycler had lost a step. And I said it in front of my pal Jenni Carlson. A double mistake. Jenni wrote about the greatness of Red Panda a few years back. Red Panda didn’t drop a bowl Thursday. Never again shall I doubt her.
NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein sat courtside. Like Brown, Goldstein can’t quit the game. He’s only 84, though. A young man compared to Brown.
Kyler Murray sat courtside next to Cardinals teammate James Conner, who wore Murray’s OU jersey. The biggest celebrities to sit courtside in OKC this postseason have been a couple of former Sooners in Murray and Trae Young. Maybe Sam Bradford and Blake Griffin will attend Game 5.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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Western Conference semifinals: Thunder vs. Mavericks
Game 1: Thunder 117, Mavericks 95
Game 2: Mavericks 119, Thunder 110
Game 3: 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Dallas (ABC)
Game 4: 8:30 p.m. Monday, May 13, in Dallas (TNT)
Game 5: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, in OKC (TNT)
*-Game 6: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, in Dallas (ESPN)
*-Game 7: 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 20, in OKC (TNT)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder facing first NBA playoffs test after Game 2 loss to Dallas
