Dallas Mavericks Podcast: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Get Major Help in Game 6 Clincher vs. OKC Thunder
The Dallas Mavericks are officially heading to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years after pulling off a massive comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of their second-round series on Saturday night.
In front of a raucous home crowd at American Airlines Center, the Mavs erased a 17-point third-quarter deficit en route to a dramatic 117-116 win. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving hit some big shots down the stretch, but the play of the supporting cast – Derrick Jones Jr., Dereck Lively II, and P.J. Washington – put Dallas over the top.
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On the latest episode of our Mavs Step Back Podcast, we give an extensive, hour-long recap of everything that transpired in Game 6. From Doncic notching his second consecutive triple-double, to Irving staying undefeated in closeout games, to the unreal contributions from Jones and Lively, and more, we touch on several burning topics.
“We talked about the turnovers. That was the first part," head coach Jason Kidd said of the Mavs' halftime adjustments after falling behind by 16 points. "The second part was just the trust and that we had to play faster. We weren’t playing fast enough. Even if they scored, we needed to take the ball out and not look around and walk the ball up."
Jones played a big role in providing Dallas with some much-needed energy in the second half. He finished with 22 points – matching Irving's scoring output – while shooting 8-13 from the field and 4-6 from deep.
"I thought in the start of the third D. Jones [Derrick Jones Jr.] got us off to a great start," Kidd said. "Then we worked the game, understanding that we weren’t going to get those 16 points back in two shots. I thought the group stayed together, trusted each other, and worked the game to get it down to seven points at the end of the third quarter. And then it was anybody’s ball game."
With OKC getting even contributions from all its starters, Kidd had to shake things up by going to a zone defense. That move proved to be effective, as it led to the Thunder having a major offensive drought that allowed the Mavs to climb back into the game.
"Again, our zone [defense] created some missed shots and some turnovers, and we capitalized on the other end. At halftime it was kind of a cool thing because we just talked," Kidd said. "I thought the group responded. Again, being down 16, we knew what we had to do, and we did that to start the third and for pretty much the whole second half.”
Also, on today's episode, we examine how the Mavs compare to their potential Western Conference Finals opponents—the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, who play in a Game 7 on Sunday night. As always, thanks for watching/listening, and be sure to SUBSCRIBE everywhere you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode!
