Game 6 of the best of 7 series will feature the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road at the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks lead this series 3-2, and are a win away from moving to the Western Conference Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were the top seed in the Western Conference, but are now a loss away from being eliminated. The Thunder went 57-25 in the regular season, and won their first five postseason games. Since then though, they have dropped 3 out of 4 to the Mavericks.
Dallas, after taking out the Clippers in six games, are looking to do the same to the Thunder in this series. The Mavericks are the fifth seed in the West after finishing with a 50-32 regular season record. Dallas went 7-3 down the stretch, and have gone 7-3 in the postseason as well.
The Dallas Mavericks are -3.5 in this game over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The total for this affair is set at 210.5.
Thunder Looking Survive
In the 104-92 loss on Wednesday, Shai Gligeous-Alexander once again led the way with 30 points. The guard was 12 of 22 from the field and 4 of 6 from free throw. The Thunder saw five guys score double digits in the game with Chet Holmgren second on the team with 13 points.
The Thunder need to score more points to stay alive in this series. In their three losses, the Thunder have scored 101 points per game. In the two wins in this series, they are scoring nearly 110 per game. Oklahoma City was third in all of the league, and the top in the West in the regular season with 120.1 points per game.
Oklahoma City is in the postseason for the first time 2019-2020. The Thunder are seeking their first trip to the NBA Finals since the 2011-2012 season where they lost in 7 games to the Rockets in the first round. In fact, this is the first time since 2015-2016 they have played in the conference semifinals.
Mavericks Seeking Trip to Western Conference Finals
For Dallas, they went to the Western Conference Finals in 2021-2022 and lost in five games to Golden State. Outside of that, Dallas has not had playoff success since their NBA title in 2010-2011. The Mavericks beat the Suns in 7 games the last time they were in the conference semifinals.
The 2024 version got 31 points from Luka Doncic, along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists. PJ Washington was strong again with 10 points and 10 rebounds over 37 minutes. Kyrie Irving scored 12 points in the win. Doncic led the league in scoring, with just shy of 34 per game in the regular season.
The Mavericks finished 7th in scoring with 117.9 per game, and had the third most three point shots made at 14.6 per game. Dallas struggled at the free throw line, at 75.8%.
Dallas Tops Oklahoma City
The Dallas Mavericks have Luka, and that is a big deal. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been terrific, and is a great basketball player, but Luka is the difference here. Look for more Luka magic, as the Dallas Mavericks win this game, and the series.
Our final bet for this game is the Dallas Mavericks -3.5 over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks head to the Western Conference Finals.
