The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-116 on Saturday night in Dallas. The win secured a spot in the Western Conference Finals for the Mavericks. It was a hard-fought game with more twists and turns than an F1 track.

For the Mavericks, they were led by Luka Doncic’s team high 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving, after scoring just four points in the first half, ended with 22 points. It was P.J. Washington, however, that stole the show. he finished with just nine points, but they may be the most important points he scores in his career.

For the young and upcoming Thunder, they were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 36 points, three rebounds, and eight assists. The Mavericks struggled to contain Gilgeous-Alexander, and his ability to bend the Maverick’s defense to his will created opportunities for Jalen Williams and Chet Williams, who scored 22 and 21 points respectively.

For the Mavericks, there were plenty of moments where a Game 7 on the road seemed inevitable. Their grit, mental toughness, and timely shot making allowed them to pull off an improbable comeback and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder started the game by scoring seconds after the tip-off and were in complete control of the game to start. Lu Dort in particular was a menace on both ends of the floor. He got caught on Luka’s hip and ran into him to put Luka on the line but his relentless defending the pick and roll led to two consecutive turnovers. On offense, he caught Washington with his hand in the cookie jar and got himself to the free throw line. Minutes later he nailed two three pointers and helped put the Mavericks on their heels.

For the Mavs, it was once again Doncic who helped stop the bleeding and kept the game from getting out of hand early after a couple of step back 3’s. With 4:30 seconds left in the quarter, Doncic ran off to the locker room and in came Jaden Hardy. Hardy had a nice dish to Dereck Lively that led to an easy dunk for the rookie big man. Hardy ended the quarter with a nice finish in the paint, but his subsequent missed free throw led to a buzzer beating heave by Jalen Williams. After one quarter, the Mavs were down 30-23. More importantly, however, Kyrie finished the quarter with just two points on two field goal attempts.

The second quarter was a game of runs for most of it. The Mavs had a 10-0 run to give them their first lead of the game. The Thunder then had two 7-0 runs that sandwiched a Daniel Gafford alley-oop dunk. Earlier, we mentioned Irving was on a milk carton in the first quarter. He popped up just long enough to score his only field goal of the quarter and second of the game. Jason Kidd was so desperate for offense he ended the quarter with a Luka/Kyrie/Hardy/Green/Gafford lineup. To the surprise of no one except Kidd himself, the lineup proved to be disastrous. They got torn to shreds by SGA and the rest of the Thunder who knocked down open three after open three to end the quarter. Led by SGA’s 21 points and 5 assists, the Thunder went into halftime up 64-48.

The third quarter can be summed up quite easily. To start, it was the Luka Doncic show. Midway through, it turned into the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander show. A Derrick Jones Jr. 3-pointer at the end of the quarter made it a seven-point game with the Thunder up 90-83. Despite seven turnovers by Doncic, poor play from his supporting cast, and a collective inability to credibly defend SGA, the Mavs were fortunate to find themselves down just seven with the game still in the balance.

The key stretch in the fourth quarter came around the six-minute mark. The Mavericks had found a way to tie the game and had opportunities to take the lead, but mental mistakes and defensive lapses allowed the Thunder to regain control of the game. On 3 straight defensive possessions you could see Mavs players looking at each other in frustration because someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be. The Thunder were getting into the teeth of the defense and finding Chet Holmgren for easy lobs. Players were getting drove by without the requisite help there to help cut off access to the rim. That stretch could have easily led to a loss but give the Mavericks credit for finding a way to bounce back in the last few minutes.

The last three minutes were an absolute blur. Lively hit an insane shot. Washington, after being silent for most of the game, made his impact felt in a major way. Luka was Luka. Most teams find a way to lose when SGA is playing the way he was. This Mavericks team showed resiliency and mental toughness and now find themselves in the Western Conference Finals. And now, some quick thoughts about an insane series ending comeback win.

PJ Washington was/is incredible

Let’s put something to bed this instant—the trade for Washington was a win. If the past week and half turn out to be the peak of his career in Dallas, that statement will still be true. In a series where Kidd was desperate to find ways to get Doncic help, Washington stepped up and was huge reason for why this team finds themselves in the Western Conference Finals. In Games 2 through 5, he averaged 25 points per game.

More important that his scoring output, was his defensive effort. His length and athleticism helped anchor a Mavericks defense that slowed down the Thunder offense and made them a one man team. There isn’t a player on the planet that can single handedly shut down SGA, but with the game on the line there was one man tasked with making things difficult for him and that man was PJ Washington. Washington is truly a cult hero amongst Mavericks fans and his legend continues to grow.

Kyrie Irving needs to be better

Irving had one of the more frustrating halves to watch as fan. Let’s start with his defense. On one particular play where Jalen Williams nailed a three, you could see Kyrie jog with the intensity of someone pretending to hurry up while someone holds the door open for them. That sort of effort is flat out unacceptable.

Speaking of effort, there was another play where after crossing half court, he gave the ball up to Luka and immediately put his hands on his knees. There were two more passes made and his hands never left his knees. Was that his version of a silent protest? Was he upset he was getting enough touches? One would hope not when you watch his lack of movement off ball. If you want the ball, go and get it.

He is one of the most skilled players to ever touch a basketball. He can get to any spot on the floor he wants. Two made baskets in a half is simply not enough. His point totals by game were 20, 9, 22, 9, and 12 through the first five games. That’s not good enough.

He had a much better second half which makes the first half look that much worse. Irving fought and competed down the stretch of this game. That is the version of Kyrie this team traded for. That is the version of Kyrie this team needs if it has any chance of making the NBA Finals. Irving is so dynamic that he can affect a game without actually scoring points. It’s not his shooting percentages that worried me, but his lack of field goal attempts. Kyrie has been labeled as mercurial and with reason. He plays with his emotions on his sleeve. A few seconds is all you need to see to know if he is engaged or simply going through the motions. For his sake, and the team’s, I hope we never see him look as uninterested as he did in that first half.