SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER SCORES 34, THUNDER OVERCOME MAVS DEFENSE TO EVEN SERIES 2-2

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 DALLAS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was making his normal share of shots through three quarters for Oklahoma City. Most of his teammates weren't, until it mattered most.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points and the Thunder overcame a Mavericks franchise playoff-record 13 blocks, rallying for a 100-96 victory Monday night to even their Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort hit clutch 3-pointers late, and Jalen Williams drove for a dunk and a 94-91 lead with 1:29 remaining as Dallas players and coaches screamed for a double-dribble call.

Crew chief Zack Zarba said in a pool report that video confirmed officials were correct not calling the double-dribble, saying Williams never had control of the ball before grabbing it with two hands and starting his dribble.

The teams split a pair on each other's home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

“We just stuck to it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We just plugged away, took it possession by possession. And eventually the game turned for us.”

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The Mavericks' last chance to tie came with 10.1 seconds left when, trailing by two, Luka Doncic had two free throws. But the Dallas superstar missed the first, part of a dismal 12-for-23 effort by the Mavs from the line. Oklahoma City was 23 for 24.

“We’ve just got to work on our free throws,” Doncic said. “We shot 52%. That’s unacceptable.”

Backed by one of their best defensive efforts of the season, the Mavs led by 14 early in the second half. But their offense disappeared from there, and the Thunder slowly came back.

Oklahoma City went in front for the first time since early in the game — and for good — on Holmgren’s 3 for an 89-86 lead with 3:24 remaining.

P.J. Washington Jr. led Dallas in scoring again with 21 points, while Doncic had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving had his second single-digit scoring game of the series with nine points.

Dort's clutch 3 came on a 3-of-10 shooting night from deep as he finished with 17 points. Holmgren had 18 points and nine rebounds.

Dereck Lively II and Derrick Jones Jr. had four blocks apiece for Dallas, each getting one in the final seconds of the first half to continue the defensive tone that had already been set.

That defensive struggle turned downright ugly in the third quarter, with the Thunder outscoring Dallas 22-15 to cut their deficit to four — the closest they had been since the middle of the first quarter. Oklahoma City shot 33% in the third to 25% for the Mavs.

Dallas wasn't much better in the fourth, shooting 42% and going just 1 of 5 from long range while the Thunder finally started seeing shots go in after shooting 34% through three quarters.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who along with Holmgren did most of the shot-making while their teammates struggled, got the Thunder even on a jumper with four minutes to go.

“There’s nothing comfortable about playoff games,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought our ability just to endure the early punches, and just not able to get back in the game for a long time, our ability to endure that was big time. In the fourth, the offense turned for us.”

Washington, making his first postseason appearance as a trade-deadline acquisition that was a defense-first move, had his third consecutive game with at least 20 points and added 12 rebounds.

Doncic had his fifth career playoff triple-double but again struggled with his shooting as he deals with a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle.

The five-time All-Star was 6 of 20 overall and 2 of 9 from long range, while the eight-time All-Star Irving hasn't put an offensive stamp on any of the first four games.

A pair that averaged just shy of 60 points per game in the regular season is at 37 in the series. Irving isn't even in the second-leading scorer. That's Washington.

“I think there’s a focus on us,” Doncic said. “When we both drive it, they collapse the paint, almost five guys. So I think that’s been difficult for us. We’ve just got to find open teammates.”

With Oklahoma City leading by three after two free throws from Holmgren in the final seconds, Gilgeous-Alexander fouled Washington before the Mavs could attempt a potential tying 3.

Washington missed the first free throw, dropping Dallas to 11 of 22, and was trying to miss the second — but it went in. Gilgeous-Alexander then put the Mavs away with two more free throws.

“This is probably the most meaningful game I've played in my career,” the Oklahoma City star said.

- SCHUYLER DIXON

KYRIE IRVING AND LUKA DONCIC HELP MAVS HOLD OFF THUNDER AGAIN FOR 2-1 LEAD IN WEST SEMIS

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 DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic already had a balky right knee and an achy left ankle when he fell hard on his back while battling his primary defender, Lu Dort, for a loose ball.

Not only did Doncic win the ensuing jump ball, the NBA scoring champion tracked down the loose ball that followed with his Dallas Mavericks clinging to a late lead.

“Everything,” Doncic said when asked what hurt, a few minutes after walking gingerly to the locker room with Dallas having beaten Oklahoma City 105-101 on Saturday to secure a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. “I'm just battling out there.”

The same could be said for plenty of others.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, including a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute to help the Mavs hold on.

Doncic also had 22 points to go with 15 rebounds, and P.J. Washington Jr. scored 27, just two shy of his playoff high from Dallas' Game 2 victory.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but was called for a charge with Doncic defending on a drive with 29 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by five.

Chet Holmgren, who scored 13 points, also had four blocks as Oklahoma City finished with 10. But the Thunder were outrebounded 16-5 on the offensive glass by the scrappy Mavs, who had a 16-9 edge in second-chance points.

Top-seeded Oklahoma City has lost consecutive games after starting 5-0 in the playoffs. Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.

“It's extremely competitive,” Holmgren said. “Both teams really want it. If you take the result out of it, it's everything that you want to be going through in a basketball game.”

Irving bounced back from just the third single-digit scoring game of his lengthy playoff career with 14 points in the second half, including six consecutive Dallas points in the fourth quarter that helped the Mavs to their biggest lead of the final period at nine.

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The Dallas lead was three after a missed 3-pointer from Gilgeous-Alexander when Irving drove across the lane and hit a runner for a 104-99 lead with 39 seconds to go.

The eight-time All-Star, coming off just eight shots and nine points when Dallas evened the series in Oklahoma City, was 10 of 17 from the field and had seven assists to lead the team for the second game in a row.

“One of my coaches just came up to me and said I waited too long, so obviously I’ve got to be better on my end,” said Irving, who made all four of his fourth-quarter shots. “We’re going against a young team. So we just want to continue to do the things that get us these W's, and it starts on the defensive end.”

Washington had a 19-point first half for the second consecutive game, once again finishing three points shy of the combined total before the break for Irving and Doncic. Washington was 3 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half and 5 of 12 for the game.

“He's hooping,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We've got to turn that water off if we want to win this series, for sure.”

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault decided to foul Dereck Lively II intentionally in the fourth quarter, and the rookie center missed three of the first four free throws. But he hit the next four in a row, the last putting Dallas up 100-95 with 3:06 to go.

Lively, who shot 51% from the line in the regular season and came in 11 of 21 in the playoffs, finished 8 of 12 on free throws and had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, who dealt with a dislocated pinkie finger in Game 2, exited in the second quarter after injuring his left shoulder in an inadvertent collision with Josh Giddey.

Gafford returned to the court for the second half with the shoulder in a large wrap, but took it off and was still in the starting lineup. He was limited to six minutes after the break, finishing with eight points.

Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams stayed down for almost 30 seconds of live action in the third quarter, ending in a 3-pointer by Irving, after injuring his left ankle. Williams went the locker room briefly but returned early in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points and eight assists.

Isaiah Joe had his playoff career best for a game with 10 points before halftime, hitting a 3 just before the buzzer to give Oklahoma City a 52-51 lead at the break. Joe finished with 13.

- SCHUYLER DIXON

SPURS' WIN HAS THUNDER, WOLVES, NUGGETS IN 3-WAY TIE ATOP WEST

© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

 SAN ANTONIO -- The West got a little wilder on Friday night.

With the Denver Nuggets' 121-120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, coupled with wins by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, there is now a three-way tie atop the Western Conference heading into the final day of the NBA regular season.

On Wednesday, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves and took a one-game lead on Minnesota and Oklahoma City. It made the reigning NBA champions the favorites to land the No. 1 seed in the West playoffs.

But after Spurs guard Devonte' Graham's 5-foot runner in the lane went in over Nuggets guard Jamal Murray with 0.9 remaining, everything changed. The Spurs forced a 5-second count on the ensuing inbounds play to seal the victory.

"It's disappointing. I mean, really disappointing," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "We controlled our own destiny, and what we accomplished on Wednesday night, we just gave it right back, you know what I mean?"

On Sunday, the Nuggets play the Grizzlies in Memphis, while the Thunder host the Dallas Mavericks and the Timberwolves host the Phoenix Suns.

For Denver, the only way to regain the top seed is if both Oklahoma City and Minnesota lose Sunday.

"It's easy to get up from Minnesota," Malone said. "I mean, our guys were locked in, they were focused, they were serious. And I don't think we had the same approach for tonight's game. You had a chance to get the 1-seed and now obviously we'll likely be the 3-seed. End of the day, no matter what seed we are, we know what we're capable of. And we got one more game. Let's try to finish it up right in Memphis and prepare for the first round."

This marks the first time in NBA history that three teams through 81 games have the same record and a chance to capture the No. 1 seed in their respective conference.

Denver led San Antonio by as many as 23 points before the Spurs stormed back. Not only was it San Antonio's largest comeback of the season, but it also was the Nuggets' largest collapse of 2023-24. It also tied the second-largest blown lead for Denver in the past 25 seasons.

In Oklahoma City, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault learned of the Nuggets' loss as he was walking off the Paycom Center court following his team's 125-107 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Matt Tumbleson, the Thunder's vice president of basketball communications, informed Daigneault of the upset and delivered a warning.

"He said, 'This is all [the media] is going to want to talk about,' and you guys are really delivering on that,'" Daigneault said in deadpan fashion. "I don't really have much of a reaction. We've got to run through the finish line."

Thunder rookie center Chet Holmgren insisted with a straight face that he was preparing mentally for Saturday's practice, not thinking about playoff seeding.

"Everything else that happens, that's out of our control," Holmgren said. "We're going to focus on what we can control."

Elsewhere in the West, very little was settled after Friday's games. The only matchup set in stone is the LA Clippers hosting the Mavericks in the 4-5 matchup -- a series that becomes more intriguing because the winner could avoid the defending champions in the second round.

With New Orleans' 114-109 win over the Golden State Warriors on the road, the Pelicans put themselves in the driver's seat to earn the No. 6 seed and avoid the play-in tournament. Zion Williamson had 26 points and a career-high six steals to help New Orleans pick up its fourth consecutive victory.

"Zion has been incredible," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "It's been incredible to watch. It never gets old."

CJ McCollum continued his hot stretch with a team-high 28 points while going 8-of-13 from 3-point range. McCollum is 29-of-47 from distance in his past four games, becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to make that many 3s over a four-game span.

The Pelicans host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday with a chance to reach 50 wins for only the second time in franchise history. A win gives the Pelicans the 6-seed.

New Orleans had a chance to lock up the 6-seed Friday night, but the Suns came from behind to defeat the Sacramento Kings 108-107 to keep their hopes of avoiding the play-in alive.

Phoenix is one game behind New Orleans in the standings but owns the tiebreaker. The Suns will either finish No. 6 -- if they win and the Pelicans lose -- or No. 7, if the Pelicans win or if both teams lose Sunday.

The Lakers found themselves in a tough test Friday against the injury-depleted Grizzlies, not securing the 123-120 victory until the final minute. LeBron James and Anthony Davis both played 40-plus minutes.

The Lakers can change their positioning in the Western Conference play-in race with a win against the Pelicans. James, when asked about the workload, simply said, "I'll be ready for Sunday."

Lakers coach Darvin Ham said the team has to treat the end of the regular season like there's no tomorrow.

"We all understand what's at stake," Ham said. "We have to push it, and we can't worry about what's going to happen [next]. ... Everyone knows what time it is. It's that time of the year, man. Whatever we need and however long we need to push guys, it's just got to happen. And they all understand that."

At 46-35, the Lakers are currently the No. 8 seed in the West, while the Kings and Warriors are 45-36. The Kings hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors.

If the Lakers defeat the Pelicans on Sunday, they will stay at No. 8 and have two chances to make the playoffs through the play-in tournament.

Sacramento finishes the season hosting the Portland Trail Blazers, while Golden State hosts the Utah Jazz. The Kings and Warriors split the season series, but because they are in the same division, the next tiebreaker goes to division record, where the Kings have the edge (10-7 to 7-9).

The Kings losing Friday gives the Warriors an outside chance at reaching No. 8, but Golden State will have to go through the play-in no matter what.

"I could care less about that. It's more about looking at ourselves and letting a game like tonight slip," Stephen Curry said after the loss to the Pelicans. "At the end of the day, it would be nice to get [to the 8]. You want two cracks at it. That would have been the goal. But at the end of the day, you just want to have the best vibes going into a playoff, or play-in scenario. So we have to bounce back."

All of the Western Conference games on Sunday will start at 3:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Tim MacMahon and Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.q

SOURCESk: CLIPPERS LAND JAMES HARDEN IN BLOCKBUSTER 76ERS

The LA Clippers acquired 10-time All-Star guard James Harden in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, sources told ESPN.

The 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN.

The Clippers are sending a 2027 first-round pick swap to Oklahoma City, clearing the way for the Thunder to move a protected 2026 first-round pick to the 76ers, sources said. The Clippers are sending a 2024- and a 2029 second-round pick to the Sixers in the deal too, sources said.

The Sixers will waive veteran guard Danny Green to create the roster space for the trade, sources said.

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