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The Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the first game of the NBA playoffs

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117-95 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday in the first game of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 8 of 19 from the floor but 11 of 13 from the free throw line in his first career second-round playoff game. The Thunder became the youngest team in NBA history to win a conference semifinal game.

Kyrie Irving scored 19 points and Luka Doncic finished the game with 19 points and nine assists for Dallas.

Less than five minutes into the third quarter, the Mavericks cut the Thunder's once 12-point lead to one with Irving's 3-pointer off a pass from Luka Doncic.

Oklahoma City beat Dallas 51:30 over the rest of the game.

The Thunder quickly answered Irving's trey after a timeout, with Isaiah Joe firing a 3-pointer to spark a 14-4 run over the next three minutes.

Gilgeous-Alexander assisted on two of the Thunder's four 3-pointers during the run and then provided the exclamation point down the stretch, sinking a 3-pointer from the top of the key to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

Before the game, Doncic praised Oklahoma City's Luguentz Dort, calling him one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.

Dort showed why in the crucial sequence, knocking the ball away from Doncic near midcourt, diving to collect the ball before quickly finding a charging Joe, who passed it to Jalen Williams for a dunk.

Helping the Thunder there was Doncic making 6 of 19 shots from the floor, including 1 of 8 from long range.

The Mavericks went nearly four minutes without a field goal late in the third period as Oklahoma City extended its lead to 15 before Dallas cut it to 10 with two baskets in the final 30 seconds.

Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren had 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, Williams added 18 points and Aaron Wiggins had 16 off the bench, including 12 in the second quarter.

The Thunder scored 22 points off Dallas' 16 turnovers.

The Mavericks shot just 39.3 percent from the field while the Thunder hit 44.9 percent.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) in Oklahoma City.

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