Mavs ride storm to edge past Thunder

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving probably wondered if his uncanny run of closeout victories without a loss in his career was finally near an end.

Well, the streak lives on, and the Dallas Mavericks are through to the Western Conference finals for the second time in three seasons.

PJ Washington Jr made two free throws before an intentional miss with 2.5 seconds left, as the Mavs rallied from 17 points down in the second half for a 117-116 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

The Mavericks wrapped up the series in Game 6 at home against the top-seeded Thunder, just as they did in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Dallas — which trailed by 17 in the third quarter, 12 late in the third quarter and nine early in the fourth — will start the West finals on Wednesday night at the home court of the winner of Denver-Minnesota.

"Being down 17 in a closeout game isn't a position you want to be in," said Irving, who is now 14-0 in such games and will play in the conference finals for the first time since 2017 with Cleveland.

"But that's where we found ourselves. We had to respond the way we've been responding all season."

Washington was fouled by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a 3-point attempt after Chet Holmgren put the Thunder in front 116-115 with a dunk on an assist from his star guard with 20 seconds remaining.

Luka Doncic, who had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double this postseason, worked his way to the basket in the final seconds, before passing to Washington in the corner. Washington pump-faked to get Gilgeous-Alexander in the air and the whistle blew as the shot fell short.

Oklahoma City challenged the ball, but replays showed Gilgeous-Alexander making contact with Washington's arm as he went up to shoot.

"Obviously, if I had the moment back, I wouldn't have fouled him," said Gilgeous-Alexander, who had a playoff career high with 36 points. "I would have just let him miss the shot. You wish you could take the moment back. I just have to learn from it, and I will."

After making the first two free throws to put Dallas in front, Washington missed on purpose, with the Thunder out of timeouts after the challenge. Holmgren passed to Jalen Williams, whose desperation shot from well behind half court wasn't close.

"If it was a clear-as-day foul, I obviously wouldn't have challenged it and held the timeout," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. "Even if you advance the ball with 2.5 seconds at a deficit, your chances are very low."

The final sequence capped a riveting fourth quarter, with five lead changes and two ties in the final five minutes.

Irving and Derrick Jones Jr scored 22 points apiece for Dallas. It was the second consecutive game with a playoff career high for Jones.

"It wasn't Luka or Kai making the game-winner," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "It was the trust of Luka, the ball touches the paint and they collapse. He trusted PJ. We find a way to win."

Washington — the second-leading scorer for Dallas in this series, ahead of Irving — didn't have a point until the fourth quarter. He scored nine, with tying and go-ahead 3s, before the winning free throws.

"I think we just stay together," Doncic said. "We always talk on the bench, stay together, with positive energy. And today was a good example of it."

Doncic didn't have Irving when he led the Mavs to the West finals in 2022, when Dallas lost to then defending champion Golden State in five games.

The first two months of the Doncic-Irving pairing, after the blockbuster deal last year, were a dud for the players, who now have 13 All-Star appearances between them. More trade-deadline moves this year from general manager Nico Harrison worked this time.

The Mavericks finished 24-9 to rise to fifth in the West and ousted the Clippers in the first round with the same sequence of wins and losses that beat Oklahoma City.

The Thunder lost four out of five games following a 5-0 start to the playoffs.

Agencies Via Xinhua