Dallas, TX
Doncic leads Mavs to Game 5 win, 3-2 lead on Thunder
Doncic powers Dallas to Game 5 win, 3-2 series lead
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• Box score: Mavericks 104, Thunder 92
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Luka Doncic stopped worrying about calls and just played.
It worked. He scored 31 points in a triple-double, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-92 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Doncic didn’t voice his displeasure with the officials nearly as much as usual, though he had words with fans a few times.
“I’m just trying to play basketball, just focus on basketball,” he said. “Sometimes I forget this is the thing I love, the thing I do. My mental focus was just go out there and play basketball with a smile on my face and just go.”
Doncic, the league’s leading scorer in the regular season, had struggled some in the series against Oklahoma City. Playing through a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle, he had averaged just 22 points on 39% shooting through the first four games. He made 12 of 22 field goals in Game 5 and had 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his sixth career playoff triple-double.
“He was aggressive,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He was making shots, taking shots. The deep 3, being able to get to the basket, playmaking for his bigs and also for the wings.”
Dallas regained the lead in the series after blowing a 14-point advantage and losing 100-96 at home in Game 4.
“We know the last game we played against them at home, we let it go,” Doncic said. “It was our mistakes and they hit shots.”
Derrick Jones Jr. scored a playoff career-high 19 points and P.J. Washington Jr. added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which shot 52.6% from the floor. The No. 5-seeded Mavericks can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win Saturday at home.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the top-seeded Thunder, but no other Oklahoma City player scored more than 13.
The Mavericks won Game 5 on the road, just like they did in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. Dallas held Oklahoma City to 42.5% shooting.
Coach Mark Daigneault said the Thunder simply didn’t shoot well, but they found some cracks in Dallas’ defense late in the game.
“I thought we were kind of there tonight and maybe missed a couple plays,” Daigneault said.
Oklahoma City tried to jump-start its struggling offense by replacing Josh Giddey with Isaiah Joe in the starting lineup. Giddey did not start for the first time in 229 combined regular season and postseason games.
Dallas led by 15 in the second quarter and took a 54-44 edge into halftime. Jones scored 15 points before the break.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 points in the third quarter, but Dallas still led 79-67.
Dallas pushed its lead out to 18 points early in the fourth quarter before the Thunder surged. A 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander cut the deficit to 89-79 with just under seven minutes remaining and forced Dallas to call a timeout. The Thunder never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Now, the Mavericks are close to advancing.
“We’ve got one more to win out of two games,” Doncic said. “That’s it. We’re up 3-2, but that’s still nothing. We’ve got to finish it and go with the same mentality at home.”
The Thunder, one of the youngest teams in the league, face elimination for the first time.
“Our mood won’t change, our mentality won’t change,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s one game at a time. We wanted to win this game tonight as badly as we’re going to want to win the next game.”
The Dallas Cowboys boasted one of the best offenses in the NFL this past season, but it wasn’t enough to get them into the playoffs. Even with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Javonte Williams, they were unable to make up for their porous defense, finishing the season 7-9-1.
This offseason, Dallas was on a mission to fix that defense. Jerry Jones vowed he would put in the work and while they might not have an elite unit, they definitely look improved on paper.
With the biggest moves this offseason done, let’s rank the position groups for the Cowboys, which begins with the most obvious strength.
Wide Receiver
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are arguably the best duo in the game, which makes this the Cowboys’ strongest position on its own. Throw in Ryan Flournoy, who had a breakout season in 2025, and it looks even better.
Dallas has depth beyond this as well, with KaVontae Turpin, who had 396 yards receiving last year, as their WR4. Even rookie seventh-round pick Anthony Smith has some upside.
Safety
Rookie Caleb Downs immediately makes this group better, but he’s not the only addition. The Cowboys also signed Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency. For good measure, they also have Malik Hooker as they turned a perennial weakness into a strength this offseason.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott carries this group, especially after another spectacular season. Behind Prescott, however, the Cowboys are still strong with Joe Milton III and Sam Howell. Either player could wind up as the QB2 and could keep the offense going in the short-term.
Defensive Line
Defensive tackle has been a weakness for years, but Jones decided that had to change. Entering 2026, Dallas has Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Otitto Ogbonnia, Jonathan Bullard, and rookie LT Overton, which is a solid group.
Offensive Line
The interior of the Dallas offensive line could make this one of the best groups overall with Cooper Beebe, Tyler Smith, and Tyler Guyton all standing out at their respective positions.
The problem is that offensive tackle has some concerns. Tyler Guyton hasn’t lived up to his draft status and Terence Steele hasn’t played up to his contract. Drew Shelton could eventually take over for one, but the rookie needs time to develop.
EDGE
There’s not an All-Pro on the edge like there was when Micah Parsons was in Dallas, but the group is much deeper this season. Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Malachi Lawrence, and James Houston can all have big roles this season. They’re even going to try Marist Liufau on the edge, but the depth might be an issue for him.
Tight End
Jake Ferguson had eight touchdowns in 2025, which was huge. The problem is that he struggled with ball security, hardly had any yards after the catch, and finished with an average of just 7.3 yards per reception.
Luke Schoonmaker has been the TE2, but he could be pushed by Brevyn Spann-Ford. Undrafted free agent Michael Trigg is a player to watch, but he’s unlikely to produce much as a rookie.
Cornerback
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker is a fan of Shavon Revel, and if he can turn him into a starter, that would be huge for this position.
Right now, there are far too many questions, with the durability of DaRon Bland being chief among them.
Entering OTAs, there’s a chance free agent pickup Cobie Durant could be their best option at cornerback. He’s a solid addition, but they need someone else to step up as well.
Linebacker
We recently noted that linebacker remains the greatest need on this team. They did a great job by trading for Dee Winters and rookie Jaishawn Barham could wind up being a great fit.
That said, they need DeMarvion Overshown to stay healthy for this group to succeed. If he misses time, their lack of depth will hurt them.
Running Back
Linebacker might be the primary need, but running back comes in last here due to the concerns behind Javonte Williams.
There’s no denying that Williams is a stud. He broke out in 2025 with 1,201 yards but the depth is questionable. If second-year back Jaydon Blue improves, this position group would climb the ranks in a hurry. For now, however, there are too many question marks.
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Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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