Luka Doncic on Saturday posted a triple-double and P.J. Washington drilled the deciding free throws as the Dallas Mavericks erased a 17-point deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 to reach the NBA Western Conference finals.
The Mavericks beat the top-seeded Thunder 4-2 in the best-of-seven conference semi-final series to reach the conference finals for the second time in three years. They are to face either the defending champion Denver Nuggets or the Minnesota Timberwolves, who yesterday were to face a deciding Game 7 in their series.
“Being down 17 in a closeout game isn’t a position you want to be in,” Dallas star Kyrie Irving said. “We had to respond the way we’ve responded all season, just playing hard-nosed basketball on the defensive end, getting out in transition and just trusting that our pace would get us back in the game.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It definitely feels good to get the series done,” Irving added.
Doncic scored 29 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Irving and Derrick Jones Jr scored 22 points apiece and Dereck Lively added 12 off the bench for the Mavs.
Washington scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining that lifted the Mavs to victory.
“I think he was just waiting for his moment,” Irving said.
It came after a controversial call in the waning seconds with the Mavs down 116-115. Doncic drove into the lane then passed to Washington in the corner, but Washington was fouled on his three-point attempt by Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Oklahoma City challenged the call, but it stood. Washington made the first two free throws before intentionally missing the third, the Thunder grabbing the rebound, but unable to make a shot from beyond halfcourt.
“If I had the moment back I wouldn’t have fouled him, let him make or miss the shot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Basketball — you win some, you lose some. You make mistakes.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, like Doncic a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award won by Denver’s Nikola Jokic, scored 36 points to lead the Thunder, who led by 16 at halftime and pushed the advantage to 17 early in the third before the Mavericks stormed back in front of a frenzied home crowd.
A three-pointer by Washington tied it at 105-105 with four minutes, 11 seconds remaining. They traded the lead three times from there, with Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren throwing down a dunk to put Oklahoma City up 116-115 with 20.4 seconds left.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was full of praise for his young team. Oklahoma City’s starting five have an average age of 23, but matched the Nuggets for the best record in the West and swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs.
“I’ve said all year this has been a total pleasure,” he said. “It’s really sad for that to finish.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to