A pivotal Game 3 is coming right up for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Maverick this weekend. The Thunder took Game 1, but the Mavs answered right back in Game 2. Will OKC reclaim the series lead? Or, will the Mavericks go back-to-back and get the upper hand in the series?

Catch this game live on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at 3:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • Josh Giddey
  • Luguentz Dort
  • Jalen Williams
  • Chet Holmgren

The Thunder knows that the series against Dallas isn’t going to be a walk in the park. In Game 2, Oklahoma City suffered its first loss of the playoffs, as they absorbed a 119-110 defeat to the hot-shooting Mavericks. Among the chief reasons for that loss was the poor showing of the Thunder from deep. They went just 10/30 from behind the arc in Game 2 after converting 40.1 percent of their 3-point attempts in the previous five outings. 

That doesn’t mean the Thunder have to stay away from the three-ball, though. Now that they’ve gone through the inevitable slump after shooting well on their threes, they could hope for a much better performance on that end in Game 3. In any case, the Thunder are not lacking in offensive weapons with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the pack. They still scored 110 points in Game 2 and just need to tighten up their defense just like OKC did in the series opener when they held Dallas to only 39.3 FG%.

Advertisement

Home: Dallas Mavericks (1-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Luka Doncic (Questionable)
  • Kyrie Irving
  • Derrick Jones Jr.
  • P.J. Washington
  • Daniel Gafford

Luka Doncic finished third in the MVP voting but he played like a true alpha in Game 2 despite seemingly not at his 100 percent form. Doncic poured in 29 points on 11/21 shooting with 11 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. He shot much better than in Game 1, so Dallas is hoping that continues to be the trend for their Golden Boy. 

The Mavs will always get immense production from Doncic, though. What really turned things around for the Mavs in Game 2 was the excellent scoring support Doncic got, with PJ Washington scoring 29 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. coming off the bench and firing 17 points. Kyrie Irving only had nine points but he had 11 assists and even had a better plus/minus (+9) than Doncic (+6). Irving could get going on the scoring end again in Game 3, as he’s averaging 30.3 points in home games in this postseason, thus far.

Picks

Spread: Oklahoma City Thunder (+2.5)

Over/Under: Under (218.0)

Advertisement