(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to duke it out on Saturday night in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Mavericks hold a 3-2 lead in the series right now so a win on Saturday will punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals.
It’s clearly a very important game and they need all their stars to perform well.
According to StatMuse, Luka Doncic is a master of closeout games.
He averages 32.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 10 assists, and 1.8 steals in this special kind of high-stakes game.
He is the only player to average 30/5/10 in these situations.
Luka in closeout games:
32.4 PPG
8.2 RPG
10.0 APG
1.8 SPG
The only player to average 30/5/10 in closeout situations. pic.twitter.com/h8iIADxHCk
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 18, 2024
If Doncic plays very well in Saturday’s game, the Mavericks could seal a victory and take down the number one seed in the West.
That would be a massive deal, especially since Dallas didn’t even reach the playoffs last year.
Doncic has had a stellar regular season but he’s delivered mixed results recently during the playoffs.
He had a very bad Game 4 but he was back in a big way for Game 5, scoring 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Was he just warming up for Game 6 and will he look like an MVP contender again?
Of course, the Thunder aren’t going to make life easy on Doncic so that means the rest of the Mavericks roster will need to show up and step up.
That is particularly true for Kyrie Irving, who has been surprisingly quiet during this series.
There is always a lot of tension during closeout games and the season is literally on the line for the Thunder, who have been such a promising team all year.
The emotions and intensity will be very high for this game, especially if Doncic is doing super well.
The post Stats Prove Luka Doncic Is Built For Closeout Games appeared first on The Cold Wire.