As Oklahoma City prepared to host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of this second-round series, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was asked how his team would respond to Luka Doncic’s physical style.
Daigneault joked that he just needed Montreal’s Luguentz Dort to show up on time for the game.
Dort did more than just show up on time. He was the defensive catalyst as the Thunder held Doncic, the NBA’s regular-season scoring leader, to 19 points and a 6-for-19 mark in continuous play in Oklahoma City’s 117-95 win.
Doncic has been nursing a knee injury since the first round. It could affect him, even though he refused to use anything as an apology after the match.
That’s not to say the Thunder are out of the woods – Kyrie Irving is fully capable of scoring more. He often defers to Doncic, but he might not do so as much if his teammate has a slow start in Game 2 Thursday at OKC.
Daigneault said he’s ready if Irving takes on more of the offensive load.
Irving is averaging 25.6 points per game in the playoffs, with a success rate of 51.2% in continuous play. He scored 20 points in the first game against the Thunder.
“We expect him to play a bigger role in games 2 and 3 and so on,” Daigneault said.
Irving, who won a championship with Cleveland in 2016, didn’t make much of the curtain-raiser loss.
“We just have to adapt,” Irving said. That’s the most important thing. The first match is in the past. We didn’t play as well as we would have liked. We failed on many of our covers. And we didn’t have the necessary attitude. »
Daigneault expects a tough Game 2.
“They will be aggressive and confident,” he said. They have a lot of experience. They won’t be shaken by a single playoff loss. We are going to have to be up to the task.”
The Thunder have allowed 95 points or fewer in five playoff games, all wins.
Chet Holmgren was crucial on defense near the basket in the first game.
The 7-foot-1 center blocked three shots and hindered numerous others.
Oklahoma City scored near its regular season average of 120 points, although Dort was 2 for 9, Jalen Williams 6 for 15 and Josh Giddey 1 for 4.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of 13 free throws. He was limited to 8 for 19 in continuous play, but he made some noise by putting the opponent out of position.
Williams recovered from a slow start and scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. He’ll probably have to shoot better earlier in Game 2.
Williams was also the player widely assigned to Irving, and he could be tested further in that regard.
The match will take place on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (Sportsnet One).
