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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder demolished the Dallas Mavericks 117-95 during Tuesday's Game 1 second-round playoff matchup. While "SGA" didn't have his most efficient shooting night, he made up for it at the free-throw line. The superstar guard's foul-drawing mastery earned him high praise from Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.
Gilgeous-Alexander tallied a game-high 29 points, including 19 in the first half, nine rebounds, nine assists and two blocks. While the 25-year-old shot 8-for-19 (42.1%), he went 11-for-13 (84.6%) at the line, regularly attacking the rim and embracing contact.
His relentless offensive attack helped OKC build a 25-point lead, with the Thunder holding Dallas to only 33-for-84 (39.3%) shooting.
After the contest, Kidd noted that the Mavericks tried containing the MVP runner-up early in the game but couldn't stop him from getting to the line.
"We thought we did a really good job, but then he started to get to the free-throw line there in the second [quarter]," Kidd said. "So, you gotta give him credit. He understands how to get to the free-throw line. ... He's not just going to settle."
Kidd added that the Mavericks will look to prevent Gilgeous-Alexander from heating up at the charity stripe in Game 2.
"We have to do a better job of keeping him off the free-throw line because once he gets going at the free-throw line, it's hard to stop him," Kidd said.
Jason Kidd on Luka Doncic's Game 1 struggles against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a strong Game 1 outing, capitalizing on his free-throw attempts, Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic struggled mightily.
He finished with only 19 points, shooting 6-for-19 (31.6%), 1-for-8 (12.5%) from 3 and 6-for-10 (60.0%) at the line. Doncic appeared bothered by Thunder wing Luguentz Dort's pestering defense, expressing frustration postgame when asked about his shooting woes.
"Who cares,” Doncic said. “We lost. We just got to move on to the next one. We’ve got to be better.”
The outing marked Doncic's first sub-20-point game this postseason. He averaged 29.8 points per game during Dallas' six-game Round 1 playoff series win over the LA Clippers.
Meanwhile, he has a career playoff scoring average of 31.7 ppg over 35 appearances, the second-highest mark in NBA history. Thus, his lackluster Game 1 performance was highly uncharacteristic.
According to Kidd, Dallas will attempt to get the five-time All-Star better offensive looks moving forward.
"He got to the line 10 times, and Shai gets going from the line," Kidd said. "The best players understand how to score. He knows how to get to the free-throw line. He had some good looks from 3. We've got to help him out, get Dort off of him a little bit better."
Doncic and the Mavericks will look to avoid falling into a 2-0 series hole during Thursday's Game 2 cash in OKC.
