My AD's Back, Damn It!

However, it took Doncic quite a while to shake off that emotional slump.

From the moment he was pulled from the game during the timeout until halftime, he seemed to have completely lost the edge he'd started with, and his play was lackluster.

As his mood spiraled, his shooting touch gradually went cold, too.

And so a new vicious cycle began.

Once Doncic lost the rhythm of the game, the Mavericks effectively lost their engine. They suddenly went into a tailspin, and their scoring efficiency plummeted.

Kidd proactively gave Gobert more minutes, relying on him to shore up the team's defensive floor and keep things from falling apart on that end, too.

But that only helped on defense.

Gobert wasn't an all-around center. If anything, he could even hold the team back on offense...

Seeing their opening, the Thunder immediately seized the chance and fought their way back.

When the second quarter ended and the teams headed into halftime,

the Thunder had managed to claw their way back into the game.

68–69

With Chen Xi leading the way, the Thunder needed less than seven minutes to erase a deficit that had once stood at 16 points—and even take a one-point lead.

And they did it while the Mavericks maintained a pretty solid defensive efficiency.

That kind of comeback was downright terrifying.

Then the game entered the second half.

At the start of the third quarter,

the Thunder brought their starters back in and quickly extended their lead even further.

And Chen Xi barely had to do anything.

Perhaps after lying low for too long, Davis—who had spent ages dutifully playing the role of a defensive workhorse—finally exploded tonight.

He'd been out of the spotlight for so long that people had nearly forgotten Anthony Davis had once been the king of