“WE GOT SOME DAWGS!!” - Mavericks fans hyped as Dallas evens series apiece despite Kyrie Irving’s 9 points tonight

The Dallas Mavericks, in a remarkable team effort, pulled off a Game 2 road win over the OKC Thunder on Thursday as part of the Western Conference semifinals and evening their series apiece as they head back to Texas to host Game 3 and 4.

Kyrie Irving contributed nine points and 11 assists. Luka Doncic rebounded with 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists after being limited to 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting in Game 1.

He improved significantly in Game 2, shooting 11-of-21 from the field. P.J. Washington also stood out, scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, a notable increase from his regular-season average of 12.9 points.

Mavericks fans were notably ecstatic about the win and took to X/Twitter, to share their reactions, with one fan saying:

"WE GOT SOME DAWGS!!"

Another fan noted how the rotational players around Luka Doncic impacted the team:

@ELMiKiNGBiNG shared his encouragement with the team's overall performance:

@S_Rendon1019 shouted out P.J. Washington for a huge impact, underscoring his double-double while mentioning Tim Hardaway Jr.'s resurgence:

"PJ cooking away from Dallas is so huge for the Mavericks. Tim Hardaway might be back. Mavs in 5."

@TheAlexaVoklov highlighted Kyrie Irving playing a significant role in the win despite not filling up the stat sheet:

"Kyrie was part of it, if not one of the most important."

@Muzanime analyzed that OKC elected to defend Kyrie Irving in a way that left others with numerous chances, which the Mavericks capitalized on:

"When they focus on kyrie this is what happens."

Dallas Mavericks vs. OKC Thunder Game 2 summary

Luka Doncic hit his first three attempts and quickly tallied eight points within the initial three minutes, propelling Dallas to an early 13-2 lead. He finished the first quarter with 16 points, making six of eight shots.

Despite his efforts, the highlight of the quarter belonged to the Thunder. With 1.4 seconds remaining, Oklahoma City executed a play from under Dallas' basket. Jaylin Williams lobbed a long pass to Chet Holmgren who, despite being closely guarded by two Mavericks, caught the ball, turned, and sank a deep two-pointer, narrowing Dallas' lead to 36-32.

By halftime, Dallas was ahead 68-62. Both teams had made 25-of-47 shots before the break, but Dallas had hit 12 3-pointers compared to six from Oklahoma City.

Dallas mounted a comeback, primarily while Doncic was on the bench. Upon his return, his alley-oop pass for Derrick Jones Jr.'s dunk extended the Mavericks' lead to 99-85 late in the third quarter, and they entered the fourth with a 99-89 advantage.

Williams narrowed the gap with a forceful two-handed putback dunk, making the score 99-95. However, the Mavericks countered quickly. Utilizing a screen from Dereck Lively II, Doncic drilled a 3-pointer to increase Dallas’ lead to 104-95 with nine minutes left in the game.