His display of emotion reciprocated the hostile energy brewing from the sold-out sea of fans in Paycom Center throughout the series. From boisterous, impolite chants in his direction to fan-made baby T-shirts with him donning a pacifier, Doncic craves the hysteria.
“I love it,” Doncic said. “When they chant ‘Luka sucks,’ it gets me going.”
And on Wednesday, his play echoed the crowd’s crescendo.
Doncic unveiled a series-best performance in the Mavs’ 104-92 Game 5 win over the Thunder. He led all scorers with 31 points while posting a triple-double with 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
“I was just focused on playing basketball,” Doncic said. “We know the last game we played against them at home, we let one go due to our mistakes. Our mentality in the playoffs is just first to four. We’ve got to go game by game.”
It was an overdue outing from Dallas’ MVP candidate, whose game has a history of elevating in the postseason. Yet, Doncic struggled through the first four games of the series while battling a right knee injury, averaging 22 points on 39% shooting from the field.
Doncic’s performance in Game 5 felt inevitable and necessary from the jump. He scored or assisted on 33 of the Mavs’ 54 first-half points, and his hot start led OKC to begin blitzing him at the top of the key, which created open looks for others.
A recipient of Doncic’s immense gravity? Eight-year NBA journeyman and Mavs forward Derrick Jones Jr. — ending the night with a playoff career-high of 19 points.
“I (saw) that he was locked in during his warmups when he came out a little bit earlier and was knocking down his shots,” Jones said.
Jones was a menace all night defensively, as Thunder players shot 0-for-8 from the field when contested by him.
“I was just sitting back, saying that it was going to be a long day for them. I’ve always been harping that No. 77 is amazing. Once he’s got his rhythm, he’s got it going, and it’s tough to stop him.”
No matter where Doncic was on the floor, OKC had little answer for him despite double teams and pesky defense from Thunder irritant Lu Dort.
Doncic repeatedly countered possessions filled with premature stops from OKC in his next steps. Whether it was a laced stepback 3-pointer, a lob pass to Jones or Dereck Lively II, or a running floater in the teeth of the defense, Doncic’s inescapable impact appeared to drain Thunder’s defenders.
With the Mavs closing in on yet another potentially series-clinching Game 6, his heroic efforts will be essential once again.
Doncic has stepped up in closeout games throughout his six-year career, putting on his proverbial cape when Dallas needs him most. He averages the most points per game in elimination games in NBA history at 35 points in his six series closeout games.
“We’re up 3-2, but that’s still nothing,” Doncic said. “We’ve got to finish it and go with the same mentality. I feel like I let my team down in a couple of games, but I’m just trying to play hard.”
