Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC Thunder send rout message against Mavericks

In the blink of an eye, Jalen Williams’ jaw fell open, his arms bulged, his veins became bulging. Then they disappeared just as quickly.

There were too many layers to the game – a Lu Dort steal in the third quarter, Luka Doncic’s foul call, Isaiah Joe’s recovery, Williams’ huge dunk, capped by his brief display of emotion – and the next possession came too soon.

Williams then had little time to enjoy the moment. To dwell on a sequence which, during a 117-95 victory in the first game of the Western Conference semi-final on Tuesday, had the effect of a blow to the temple. Sequences like these and runs like the Thunder made in the second half can be erased by the natural oscillations of a match. Like the swing Dallas took to open the second half.

But Williams’ dunk, which gave the Thunder a seven-point lead, found a way to showcase immortality. With the exception of Doncic’s pair of free throws that came on the next possession — rendered null and void by another Thunder 3 — OKC never led by less than five the rest of the way.

“It’s a muscle we’ve developed at this point,” said coach Mark Daigneault. “We had to endure a lot of these situations during the season. I think a lot of it comes from respect for the opponent. We know this is a heavyweight clash. … To think that you’re going to experience games or a series where they don’t hit, it’s unrealistic.

OKC should be reminded every time it takes the floor with Dallas that even a 30-point lead isn’t insurmountable. He played that way Tuesday, diving for loose balls and long rebounds even though his lead was at arm’s length.

Knowing the level of variance that can be granted or taken away at any given moment, OKC piled up possessions as often as Daigneault drove the sentence into the ground.

After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams combined for 17 free throw attempts in the first half, they combined for just two for the rest of the half. After shooting just 5 of 16 from 3 in the first half, OKC continued to look good. That was rewarded with the kind of runs the Mavericks just couldn’t answer.

After Dallas closed to a one-point deficit, Daigneault replaced Josh Giddey with Isaiah Joe. Joe immediately made a 3 on a play designed for him. And so the assault began.

Sleeps connected on a triple set. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 29 points, had a painful putback. There was Joe’s pair of 3s and the shot that rolled Chet Holmgren.

OKC went 13 for 17 from deep in the second half before garbage time.

Williams remained nearly three-quarters pulseless. Looks like he knows and loves didn’t measure up. In a series that will likely rely on his pull-up jumpers and affinity for touch, Williams has become almost numb.

“On this stage, it’s easy to get caught up in the successes and failures,” Williams said. “I think everything is a little more amplified because every possession is super intense. It is therefore easy to devalue yourself or to stop pulling, to be passive. … Just (I have to) kind of understand that it’s basketball.

Its drought was also temporary. Forgotten with his fourth-quarter rampage: 10 points, a perfect 4 for 4 from the field and a pair of 3s that buried the Mavericks as part of a 15-2 series.

The kind of course Williams could soak up for a while.

Above the rim

That’s it for the height requirements. The way the Thunder had been critically measured all year before riding the roller coaster, often deemed too small to ride.

Tuesday’s broadcast absolved him of all that, if only for one night.

Questions of size and strength were dismissed. Holmgren’s bird chest, perpetually bruised but strong, held up even when Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford clashed like the cover of Lethal Weapon. Jaylin Williams, who Daigneault said is not a hitman, questioned Daigneault’s honesty.

The two combined for 16 of the Thunder’s 52 rebounds. OKC outscored Dallas by 13, a glaring departure from both teams’ regular season series.

The boards that OKC’s two centers didn’t grab? They seemed magnetically drawn to his actors’ hands. Cason Wallace inhaled long rebounds. Aaron Wiggins saved possessions by fending off loose balls. Dort threw himself toward the glass like Evel Knievel with a vertical of nearly 40 inches.

Defensively, Holmgren held up his end of the bargain. He was asked to go “bow to bow with Dallas” in the frontcourt. He was asked to meet an energetic Kyrie Irving in drop coverage. Holmgren added three blocks, including a crucial extension from Irving’s most comfortable spot, and countless other contests.

But it was what happened away from Holmgren, when the rookie center was out of the game, that effectively put the Mavs back.

With Holmgren going to find a ball handler in coverage, he was forced to leave his position. Then OKC’s wings started to take over behind him. Giddey was spinning like a low man. Aaron Wiggins forced improbable misses.

Over the final 24 minutes, the Mavs shot just 5 of 18 on shots in the paint. For 48 years, the Thunder seemed just big enough to thrive.

More:Mussatto: How Aaron Wiggins and the Thunder bench fueled the Mavericks’ Game 1 rout in the NBA playoffs

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC Thunder send rout message against Mavericks

OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks playoff schedule

Game 1: Thunder 117, Mavericks 95
Game 2: 8:30 p.m. Thursday at OKC (ESPN)
Game 3: 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Dallas (ABC)
Game 4: 8:30 p.m. Monday in Dallas (TNT)
Game 5 (if necessary): TBD Wednesday, May 15 in OKC (TNT)
Game 6 (if necessary): 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, in Dallas (ESPN)
Game 7 (if necessary): 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 20 in OKC (TNT)