CREATED BY SPORTS BETTORS FOR SPORTS BETTORS
LET’S HEAR YOUR STORY
Dallas had its defense clicking — for all four quarters this game.
It also had a monster game from Luka Doncic — a 31-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound triple-double that was a masterclass game when the Mavericks needed it the most. He said the OKC crowd's "Luka Sucks" chants, "It gets me going."
The result was a 104-92 Mavericks win on the road that has them up 3-2 on the Thunder with a chance to close out the series in Game 6 in Dallas on Saturday.
"This team is special. We've only been together five months. I've been having a lot of fun with this team," Doncic said postgame.
What Dallas has found that has worked in this series is a pack-the-paint defense that is taking away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's preferred drive-and-kick game — OKC shot a league-best 38.9% from 3 this season because they worked inside out and got shooters clean looks. Dallas has taken away gavet strategy and the Thunder shooters are struggling — 10-of,-40 from 3 in Game 5, 17-of-67 from beyodthe arc over the last two games.
"I felt like we played well offensively tonight. We got a lot of good looks we usually make," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Oklahoma City came back in the fourth quarter in Game 4 because Gilgeous-Alexander started taking and making from the midrange (10-of-14), but he was 2-of-4 in Game 5.
Dallas' defense takes some credit for that, and while Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II have provided rim protection, what matters most for this team is that the guys who are usually targets have stepped up with defensive effort. Like Doncic.
Oklahoma City's defense dared Derrick Jones Jr. to shoot and so he did, hitting 3-of-5 from 3 on his way to 19 points. Kyrie Irving added a dozen.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 on the night on 12-of-22 shooting, but he needed more help. Chet Holmgren scored 13, while both Jalen Williams and Lu Dort had a dozen.
Mark Daigneault finally made the switch to start Isaiah Joe in front of Josh Giddey, but Joe responded with just six points on nine shot attempts.
This looked like the Mavericks' night from the start.
After a rough fourth quarter in Game 4, Doncic and the Mavericks came out with a real pace to start Game 5 (and this was the best Doncic has moved all series). He had 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the first half. The Mavericks movement set up easy buckets along the way and Dallas led by 10 at the half.
Oklahoma City made some runs, but never really threatened.
The Thunder will need to hit shots to be a threat in Game 6, or the No. 1 seed will be out in the second round.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
Your experience on this site will be improved by allowing cookies.
