The best team of the Western Conference of the regular season beat Dallas “Mavericks” at home with 117:95 (23:23, 39:30, 27:26, 28:16) and took a 1-0 lead in the four-game winning streak.
Shay Gilges-Alexander, the contender for this season’s NBA Most Valuable Player, scored 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds and gave nine assists.
Chet Holmgren scored 19 points and Jalen Williams scored 18 in the “Thunder” team.
Kyrie Irving was the top scorer for the visitors with 20 points, but another contender for the season’s MVP award, Luka Doncic, scored a modest 19 points, six steals and nine assists this time.
The second game of the series will take place on Thursday at the Thunder stadium, but the next two matches will be played in Dallas.
It has already been reported that “Thunder” beat the New Orleans “Pelicans” 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs, while “Mavericks” beat the Los Angeles “Clippers” 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the Western Conference.
In the previous season, the Denver “Nuggets” defeated the Miami “Heat” 4-1 in the final series and won the NBA championship for the first time in history.
Tags: Thunder open Western Conference semifinals safe win Mavericks Day
