OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was his usual self, but Luka Doncic wasn’t.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 117-95 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 8 of 19 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws, giving the Thunder a 111-89 lead with 3:26 remaining.
Doncic, a fellow MVP finalist with Gilgeous-Alexander, scored 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting and had five turnovers.
When asked about the shooting, he bristled.
“Who cares,” he said. “We lost. Just move on. We have to be better.”
Lou Dort did most of the work guarding Doncic, rookie Kayson Wallace saw some of the work, and Holmgren, a 7-foot-1 center, pestered Doncic near the rim.
Thunder manager Mark Daigneault said Dort, one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, did his job.
“He’s just a warrior,” Daigneault said. “He brings the juice every night. Doncic is a great player in a really tough matchup, but he didn’t pitch his best tonight. He’s going to play better than this. Lue was tough on him. I thought our team was tough on him.”
Holmgren added 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Jaylen Williams struggled with his shot in the third quarter, but scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth to help Oklahoma City remain undefeated in the playoffs.
For the fifth-seeded Mavericks, Kyrie Irving had 20 points and Daniel Gafford added 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Game 2 will be played Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
Daigneault is aware that the Mavericks stole home court from the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of their first-round series.
Dallas went on to win that series 4-2.
“I think we can expect them to play better than they did tonight,” Daigneault said. “What we absolutely have to do is underestimate this opponent.”
The Thunder held the Mavericks to 39.3 percent shooting and won the game despite being down 52-39 in rebounds.
Gilgeous-Alexander took a short break at the start of the second quarter before entering the game at the 8:20 mark.
He scored 11 points in the period, helping the Thunder lead 62-53 at halftime.
He scored 19 points in the first half, while reserve Aaron Wiggins scored 12 of his 16 points before intermission.
With Dallas on its own in the second half, Irving’s 3-pointer cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 66-65, forcing the Thunder to call a timeout.
When play resumed, Isaiah Joe and Dort made 3-pointers, Dort beat Doncic, and Williams dunked, giving the Thunder a 74-67 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer hit Doncic in the face, giving Oklahoma City an 80-69 lead. Irving hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, but the Thunder still led 89-79.
Williams scored eight straight points for the Thunder, giving Oklahoma City a 102-87 lead, and the Thunder controlled the game from there.
Thunder set an Oklahoma City playoff record with 29 assists.
“It was a shaky start, but I thought we got into a good groove,” Daigneault said. “Really smart offense. We did a good job of blending our aggressiveness with what the defense gave us, chasing down the defense and keeping the ball in front of us. Slowing down, planning, making adjustments. They’re really good when they can.”
The Mavericks will need to regroup.
“They’re a great team,” Doncic said. “Great defensive team, great offensive team. So it’s never easy. We have to [play] It was very good basketball, 48 minutes of focused basketball. ”
