Daily Thunder · Dec 11, 2024
Thunder Punch Mavs, Ticket to Vegas
OKC 118 DAL 104
In front of a raucous crowd on national TV, The Thunder (19-5) eliminated the Mavericks (16-9) from the NBA Cup, earning a trip to Las Vegas to try and win the tournament.
The 57-54 first half was a familiar clash: Luka Doncic sweating for 2 points in the Dorture Chamber, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander going off (18 first half points, 39 for the game), but Dallas decisively winning the shooting battle with the rest of his teammates. But OKC's trusty turnover and transition advantage went from an edge to full tilt in the second half, taking control of the game with a 33-19 third quarter marked by more defense-to-offense highlights and--you guessed it--a lethal scoring flurry by SGA.