The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, losing 100-96. The loss means the series is even at two games a piece, and Game 5 shifts back north to Oklahoma City. The Mavericks had an opportunity to take control of the series, as teams that go up 3-1 win 95 percent of the time. Now they’ll have to win two of the next three games in order to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Shia Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 34 points, as well as eight rebounds. P.J. Washington led the Mavericks with 21 points, and also tied with Luka Doncic with 12 rebounds for most in the game. Doncic only scored 18 points, and Kyrie Irving didn’t do much better, scoring only nine points.

Here are four numbers to know from the game:

11: The number of missed free throws by the Mavericks

The Mavericks were awful at the charity stripe, only shooting 52 percent. That’s 11 misses from the line. Perhaps you noticed, Dallas lost by four points! Maybe hitting even half of those misses means they win the game. Championship contenders don’t give away free points, and that’s exactly what the Mavericks are doing. They need to fix it, immediately.

7: The number of turnovers by Doncic

Perhaps the most depressing stat of the night—Doncic had more turnovers (7) than field goals made (6). He’s banged up, obviously tired, but he has to be better. Sure, he ended up with a triple-double—18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists—but the Mavericks need Doncic’s scoring. Part of this is on the coaching staff. They need to make things easier on Doncic, help him get some easier looks off actions from Irving or even Washington. Whatever, the solution, the Mavericks won’t go very far with Doncic performing like this.

4: The number of field goals by Irving

Similarly, the Mavericks need more from Irving. He’s been oddly passive in this series, but it hasn’t mattered much, since the Mavericks were winning. But tonight, he looked completely off and not aggressive at all. He only had four makes from the field and five fouls. Irving only took two 3-pointers, missing them both. As mentioned above with Doncic, Irving can’t have games like this. He did have nine assists, but the pressure he puts on defenses when he’s looking to score changes the dynamic on offense, and the Mavericks need it.

13: The number of blocks by the Mavericks

One positive stat! The Mavericks had 13 blocks as a team. The Dallas bigs were active and mean around the rim. Dereck Lively II and Derrick Jones Jr. had four blocks each. Daniel Gafford had three. Washington and Doncic even got in on the block party with one each. The game result was disappointing, but the defense around the rim was incredible.

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The Dallas Mavericks (2-1) face the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2) in Game 4 of the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs on Monday, May 13, 2024 (5/13/24) at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.

HOW TO WATCH: Fans can watch the games via a free trial to DirecTV Stream or via a subscription to SlingTV, which is offering 50% off for the first month.

Here is what you need to know:

What: Western Conference second round Game 4

Who: Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

When: Monday, May 13, 2024 (5/13/24)

Where: American Airlines Arena

Time: 9:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Channel finder: Verizon Fios, DirectTV Stream, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.

Live Stream: Sling (50% off the first month), DirecTV Stream (free trial)

Here’s a recent NBA story from the AP:

NBA teams were told Monday that Bronny James, the son of the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, has been medically cleared to play in the league and is expected to participate in the draft combine this week, a person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press.

Teams were told of the clearance in a memo sent Monday morning, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the league did not publicly release any details. All players at the draft combine in Chicago undergo medical examinations.

ESPN first reported the NBA’s decision.

The clearance determination was likely expected, given that Bronny James was able to play the final 25 games for Southern California this past season as a freshman. He suffered cardiac arrest during a practice session in July 2023 and needed a procedure to fix what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, then missed several months while recovering.

The NBA convened what is known as a fitness-to-play panel — three doctors who review medical records — to determine if James should be cleared. They determined that he is “medically able and fit to play basketball in the NBA,” which means he can take part in the combine.

James is on a roster to participate in on-court games Tuesday, though rosters and playing plans often change at the combine. All players at the combine are also expected to participate in a media session on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists at USC this past season. He has until later this month to decide if he is going to stay in the draft or return to college basketball for at least one more season.

LeBron James — the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and someone who just finished his 21st season in the league — said many times in recent years that he would like to play in the league alongside his son. But when this season ended, the Lakers star who could become a free agent this summer said he hasn’t “given much thought lately” about the notion of playing on a team with Bronny James.

“The kid has to do what he wants to do — and I don’t even want to say kid no more — the young man will decide what he wants to do and how he wants his career to go,” LeBron James said when the Lakers’ season ended with a playoff loss to Denver. “I just think the fact that we’re even having the conversation is pretty cool in the sense of that. Obviously, we’ll see what happens.”

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JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers.

During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more.

In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide.

John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools.

Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national “Beat Writer of the Year” from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma’s “Best Sports Column” from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two “Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting” Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK.

Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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