Mavericks defense rises to occasion in Game 5 win vs. Thunder

Dallas held OKC to 42.5 percent shooting and 25 percent shooting from deep and outrebounded the Thunder 46 to 33. Despite the Thunder's 14-to-6 advantage in turnovers, they simply couldn't score much outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's reliable 30 points.

Luka Doncic had 31 points and 10 rebounds, but what stood out was his 11 assists. He consistently got his teammates' alley-oop dunks and wide-open threes, getting his points on efficient 12-of-22 shooting and hitting five three-pointers for the second time in this series. Some of them came from way behind the arc.

Dallas led for the final 44 minutes of the game. Unlike Game 4, it survived the Thunder's fourth-quarter charge. OKC cut the lead to seven points with a dunk from Chet Holmgren (13 points), but P.J. Washington scored five straight Dallas points to hold off the Thunder.

Then, with the Mavs leading by 11, Derrick Jones Jr. (19 points) stuffed Holmgren and sprinted down the court for a game-sealing dunk. Assisted by Doncic, of course.

After scoring 117 points in their Game 1 win, the Thunder have scored fewer points in every game of the series, dropping to 110, 101, 100 and now 92 points. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault recognized this trend and made a lineup change, inserting sharp-shooter Isaiah Joe into the starting lineup for Josh Giddey. But Joe shot 2-of-8 from three-point range and finished with just six points.

The Thunder also have struggled with the Mavericks' size, and that continued Wednesday. Washington had 10 rebounds, Daniel Gafford had nine points and seven rebounds, while rookie Dereck Lively II had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and was a game-high +22 in his 23 minutes.

Dallas can close out the series in Oklahoma City on Saturday at home. The Thunder have three days to discover some offense.