Ruled out for Game 6 As expected, Anunoby will not be available for Game 6, and considering he's still been limited to light, on-court work, it's unlikely he'd be available for Game 7 if one is required. Miles McBride, Precious Achiuwa and Alec Burks will help pick up the slack in Anunoby's absence.
Likely to play Thursday Conley is expected to return to action Thursday after missing Game with right Achilles soreness. If the veteran guard is ultimately upgraded from questionable to available, he will likely reclaim his starting spot from Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Present at shootaround Conley is listed as questionable for Thursday's contest after missing Game 5 with right Achilles soreness. While Conley's presence at shootaround is a good sign of his availability, the veteran guard was also at shootaround ahead of Game 5 before being ruled out.
Stuffs stat sheet in Game 5 defeat Dort didn't have his best shooting performance and was particularly woeful from three-point range, but he still delivered decent fantasy value due to his ability to fill the stat sheet. Dort will need to be better Saturday, as the Thunder will try to avoid elimination in a pivotal Game 6 in Dallas, but the odds are against him. Through five games in the series, Dort is averaging just 10.4 points while shooting a meager 31.4 percent from the field.
Impressive outing not enough Whether the Thunder struggle offensively or not, Gilgeous-Alexander will always get the job done. Unfortunately, he couldn't do everything on his own Wednesday, and he came up short of carrying OKC to a Game 5 victory despite filling out the stat sheet admirably. With the Thunder's back against the wall, Gilgeous-Alexander will need to be at his best on Saturday, as the Thunder will aim to avoid an early playoff exit on the road in Game 6. The star floor general is averaging 31.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the current series against Dallas while riding a four-game streak of appearances with 30 or more points.
Steps up offensively in win The Mavericks needed someone to step up offensively due to P.J. Washington's cold shooting and Kyrie Irving's struggles throughout the series, and Jones embraced that role to deliver a playoff-best scoring mark. Jones has scored in double digits in back-to-back contests, setting him up for having a solid role Saturday in Game 6. He's averaging 9.8 points per game in the current postseason run.
Efficient off bench in Game 5 Lively has been playing off the bench due to the solid play of Daniel Gafford down low, but the rookie out of Duke made his presence felt on both ends of the court Wednesday. Aside from missing just one shot from the field, Lively was active defensively and recorded the first playoff double-double of his career. Lively is averaging 7.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in the postseason, and while he looked very good in this pivotal win, he's not expected to move to a starting role ahead of Game 6 on Saturday.
Poor offensive showing in loss Williams hasn't been able to repeat the same numbers he posted during the first-round series against the Pelicans, and he's yet to surpass the 20-point mark in the current series against the Mavericks -- an alarming figure given he averaged 19.1 points per game in the regular season and 21.3 points per contest against New Orleans. Williams is also shooting a meager 40.8 percent from the field in the current series against Dallas.
Posts triple-double in win Doncic has been playing through several ailments of late, but that didn't seem to slow him down Wednesday, as he posted his second triple-double of the series while carrying the Mavericks to a huge road win. The Mavericks are now potentially 48 minutes away from reaching the Western Conference Finals, and Doncic is expected to play a prominent role on offense in Game 6 on Saturday.
