Thunder Destroys Mavericks 135-86, Secures Top Position In Western Territory

Oklahoma City Thunder players celebrate the win over Dallas Mavericks (photo: x @octhunder)

JAKARTA - Oklahoma City Thunder did not give Dallas Mavericks a chance as they rolled up the opponent with a score of 135-86 on Monday 15 April morning. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander impressed by scoring 15 points with just 16 minutes of playing.

Thunder (57-25) ended the regular season with a five-match win in a row to take the top spot in the Western Region for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

In that match, Mavericks (50-32) chose to back up all their core players except Team Hardaway Jr. That includes Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who rested for the second match in a row ahead of the opening of the Dallas playoffs against Clippers.

Oklahoma City had no such certainty when it entered the final day, as they were part of a three-way draw with Denver and Minnesota for the top position in the West. However, Denver's win confirmed Thunder's playoff position.

Thunder scored the first 11 points in the game to build an advantage they never let go until the end of the game. Even though Mavericks had approached, Thunder closed the first quarter with a 17-4 attack to regain control of the game and lead 39-22 after the first quarter.

Oklahoma City continued to press in the second quarter, ahead of Dallas 43-19 to lead 82-41 at halftime.

In the second half, apart from a few minutes in the third quarter of Josh Giddy, core player Thunder sat. However, that didn't stop Oklahoma City from increasing the lead. Thunder took the lead by up to 55 points in the third quarter and 58 points in the fourth quarter.

Brandon Williams leads the Mavericks with 22 points, while Olivier-Maxence Prosper accounts for 15 points. However, it was not enough to address Thunder's powerful attack.

With seven Thunder players scoring double digits, Aaron W▁putrady scored 14 points from the bench and Ousmane Dieng contributed 13 points. Rookie Total Holmgren scored 13 points with nine rebounds in just 11:32 minutes.

Thunder fired 55.7 percent from the pitch, showing his dominance in the match.