Doncic triple-double gives Mavs the edge

Luka Doncic finished with 31 points and delivered his second consecutive triple-double, as the Dallas Mavericks moved to within one victory of their second Western Conference finals appearance in three seasons with a 104-92 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

The Mavericks hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven, second-round series as they head home for Game 6 on Saturday.

Doncic, who has been playing with multiple injuries through the course of the playoffs, also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

"I think you saw his intent," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "He was aggressive, he was making shots, taking shots, the deep 3, being able to get to the basket, playmaking for his bigs and also the wings. And also the trust factor. I thought he did a great job of taking care of the ball, but his intent was to get to the basket and score, and he did that at a high level."

Derrick Jones Jr scored 19 points for the Mavericks, and PJ Washington had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Dereck Lively II added 11 points and 10 rebounds off the Dallas bench, while Kyrie Irving added 12 points.

Dallas finished off Oklahoma City on Wednesday after taking a 100-96 defeat in Game 4 on Monday, when the Mavericks blew a 14-point, third-quarter lead and an eight-point lead with less than eight minutes to go.

"It's just our mentality," Doncic said. "We know that, in the last game we played them at home, we let it go. It was our mistakes and they hit shots. In the playoffs, it's the first to four. You have to win four before they do, so you have to go game by game."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and Chet Holmgren added 13 for the top-seeded Thunder, who are now forced to win consecutive games in order to advance.

Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort each scored 12 points for Oklahoma City, which never led after the first quarter.

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said, "The thing I was encouraged by offensively, is that I thought we looked like ourselves stylistically. There were times in Games 2, 3 and 4 that I just felt we were in a headlock offensively, and jammed up against their defense."

REUTERS