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OKLAHOMA CITY — The anomalistic season for the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder ended Saturday night after a 117-116 last-second loss to the Dallas Mavericks, as they lost the series four games to two. 

The Thunder started off the first three minutes of the game on a 16-6 run, headlined by Lu Dort’s nine points. Prior to game six, Dort explained how no matter the outcome, the Mavs were going to get the Thunder’s best punch.

“It’s not just me, it’s the same feeling for the whole team. We’re going to go out there and compete, execute, and give our best shot.”

The Thunder led for the entirety of the first quarter, but Dallas struck with a counterpunch of their own in the second, taking the lead with less than five minutes left on a 14-2 run.

In this series, the talk has been about the Thunder’s inability to shoot from the three point line for a team that led the league in three point percentage at 38.9%, but in the first half they were clicking on all cylinders.

They closed the half on a 24-6 run, capped off by an Isaiah Joe three with 1.3 seconds left as they led 64-48. 

This is what Thunder fans have been clamoring for the whole series. It seemed like there were spurts in game’s 1-5 that the Thunder looked reminiscent of the team they were in the regular season, but in the first half of game 6, they proved it.

The Thunder’s game plan for the series was working as well in the first half. Mark Daigneault was adamant in trapping Kyrie Irving with two defenders, forcing the Mavericks role players to beat them with the short roll or corner three.

A young team showing that they are… young.

In the third,  the Mavericks came out determined, cutting the Thunder’s lead to 10 with 10:15 left. The Thunder then pushed the lead back to 17 after Jalen Williams connected with Chet Holmgren on a lob as they led 75-58.

Juxtaposed to the resilient group we’ve grown accustomed to seeing all year, it was all downhill from this point forward for the Thunder. 

The primary Luka Doncic defender in this series, Lu Dort, picked up his fourth foul with 8:13 left in the 3rd quarter, and his fifth with less than a minute left in the period, forcing Mark Daigneault to sit him for an extended period of time. During the time Dort went to the bench, the Mavs cut the lead to seven entering the fourth.

The Mavericks made a run as they did all game, tying it at 97 with six minutes remaining in the fourth, and the Thunder’s hard earned 17 point lead had evaporated.

Rebounding had been a problem for the Thunder all year, in which Chet Holmgren received a majority of the criticism. In this game he allowed Mavericks rookie center, Dereck Lively, to grab 15 rebounds to his three.

With less than five minutes left, Lively missed a free throw and P.J. Washington got the offensive rebound over Holmgren which led to another game tying three at 105 a piece.

A fourth quarter with many ebbs and flows.

Thunder guard Shai Gilegous-Alexander showed in the fourth quarter that he is a bonafide superstar. He finished with 36 points scoring bucket after bucket, and hit a three with 1:06 left to cut the Mavericks lead to two after they had taken the lead.

Subsequently, the Thunder took the lead on a Chet Holmgren alley-oop dunk, and they needed one more stop to keep their season alive.

With six seconds left, Luka Doncic endured a trap from Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander to kick the ball out to P.J. Washington for three. Then the unimaginable happened. 

Washington was fouled on the lower half of his arm by Gilgeous-Alexander. It sent him to the line for three free-throws and a chance to win the game. 

He would hit two and miss the third on purpose, ending the Thunder’s magical season.

After the game, Gilegous-Alexander was distraught at his late game miscue, fouling Washington.

“I shouldn’t have fouled him. We talk about it all year, the little things that go into winning games and being disciplined. It sucks, obviously if I had the moment back I wouldn’t have fouled him. You win some and lose some.”

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Thunder Season Ends

A forward look to the off-season sees the Thunder getting a big man in the middle via the draft or free agency to solidify their rebounding woes, and this gives Chet Holmgren an opportunity to space the floor playing his natural position at power forward.

The Thunder’s year comes to an end, but it was one of the best in franchise history. They became the youngest team ever to get the first seed. They won 50+ games, and having a 25-year-old league MVP candidate is nothing to be down about. This young and resilient team will be in the mix in the Western Conference for the foreseeable future.