The Dallas Mavericks head into Game 3 at home having evened up the series with the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night. It was truly a team effort from Dallas, as five different players scored in double figures, led by Luka Doncic and P.J. Washington racking up 29 points apiece. They got some much-needed production from Tim Hardaway Jr. who broke out of a shooting slump in a big way with 17 points off the bench, as Dallas’ hot shooting overpowered a Thunder team that shot just 33.3% from deep.
OKC trailed for most of the game, and even after taking their first lead in the third quarter, Dallas answered back, and did enough down the stretch to keep enough distance between them and a Thunder team that constantly fought to get back in the game.
Now the series shifts to Dallas, and after two games of getting familiar with each other, it will be interesting to see what adjustments are made on both sides to try and get another win.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Game 3.
Thunder vs. Mavericks schedule, scores
All times Eastern | * If necessary
- Game 1: Thunder 117, Mavericks 95 — Oklahoma City leads 1-0
- Game 2: Mavericks 119, Thunder 110 — Series tied 1-1
- Game 3: Saturday, May 11 — Thunder at Mavericks, 3:30 p.m., ABC
- Game 4: Monday, May 13 — Thunder at Mavericks, 9:30 p.m., TNT
- Game 5: Wednesday, May 15 — Mavericks at Thunder, TBD, TNT
- Game 6*: Saturday, May 18 — Thunder at Mavericks, 8:30, ESPN
- Game 7*: Monday, May 20 — Mavericks at Thunder, 8:30, TNT
Thunder vs. Mavericks, Game 3
Where to watch
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET | Date: Saturday, May 11
Location: American Airlines Center — Dallas
TV channel: ABC | Streaming: FuboTV
Storylines
Thunder: One interesting tidbit from the Game 2 loss was Mark Daigneault’s decision to bench Josh Giddey at the start of the second half. He instead put Aaron Wiggins in his starting spot, as Wiggins has been incredibly valuable on the offensive end through the first two games of this series. After the game, Daigneault said that the lineups will remain fluid, and given that the Thunder have been a far better team with Giddey on the bench given his inability to knock down shots and space the floor, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his role shift in this series. If that becomes a permanent decision and Wiggins stars in his place, or someone else like Cason Wallace, the Mavericks will be forced to adjust as there won’t be a major liability for them to attack on offense or leave open on defense.
Mavericks: The biggest development from this win is that Doncic started to hit 3s, as well as Hardaway Jr. Doncic was bound to get going after a shooting slump that’s lasted the entirety of this postseason, but Hardaway’s 17 points off the bench is a massive green flag for Dallas. He was Dallas’ third leading scorer in the regular season after connecting on 35.3% of his 3s, and he was in the running for Sixth Man of the Year until his shooting just fell off a cliff. If Hardaway can sustain his hot hand going forward in this series, it will give the Mavericks another reliable shooter to kick it out to. His shooting, as well as Doncic being able to knock down shots from deep, will be major keys in Game 3 and beyond.
Prediction
This is a tough one to predict because, on the one hand, you could argue that the Mavericks just got hot and that efficient shooting will regress a little bit. And on the other hand, you can say that the Thunder won’t always get major production out of their bench like they did in Game 1. It was encouraging to see Doncic look a bit more spry at times, and the fact Dallas won with Kyrie Irving scoring just nine points is absurd, but I have more faith in OKC’s role players being consistent than Dallas right now. Pick: Thunder +3
