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Basketball

'Mission accomplished. 8 more wins left to go! ' - Fans react as Dallas Mavericks beat Oklahoma City Thunder and enter to final

Basketball: Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 on Saturday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the second time in three seasons.

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Varun Sarwate
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Dallas Mavericks (Source: X)

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Dallas Mavericks defeated Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 on Saturday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the second time in three seasons. P.J. Washington Jr. scored two free throws before an intentional miss with 2.5 seconds remaining.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fouled Washington on a 3-pointer after Chet Holmgren put the Thunder up 116-115 with a slam off an assist from his star guard with 20 seconds left. Luka Doncic, who finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, made his way to the hoop in the closing seconds before dishing to Washington in the corner. Washington pump-faked to get Gilgeous-Alexander into the air, and the whistle sounded as the shot missed.

Oklahoma City disputed the ball, but a review revealed Gilgeous-Alexander making contact with Washington's arm as he moved up to shoot. After Dallas made the first two free throws, Washington intentionally missed, and Holmgren passed to Jalen Williams, whose desperate jumper from deep behind half-court fell short. Dallas Mavericks won the series in Game 6 at home against the top-seeded Thunder, exactly as they had done in the first round against the Clippers. Dallas fell by 17 points in the third quarter. 

Mark Daigneault made his playoff debut in his fourth season as coach

Oklahoma City Thunder had led for all but one minute of the fourth quarter before the thrilling final sequence, which featured five lead changes and two ties in the last five minutes. Jalen Williams finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, Holmgren scored 21 points, and Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points, his highest total in the playoffs this year. For Dallas, Irving and Derrick Jones Jr. both scored 22 points. For Jones, it was his second straight game at a playoff career high.

Coach Mark Daigneault made his playoff debut in his fourth season, and the first-round sweep of New Orleans was the franchise's first series victory since reaching the Western Conference finals in 2016.

 Here are twitter reaction to the news:

Dallas Mavericks Oklahoma City Thunder NBA
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