Luka Dončić Astounds NBA Fans amid Injuries in Mavs' Game 5 Win vs. SGA, Thunder

Not even significant injury concerns were enough to stop Luka Dončić in Wednesday's swing game of the second-round playoff series between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dončić's Mavericks are now up 3-2 and a win away from the Western Conference Finals after their 104-92 victory over the Thunder in Game 5 at Paycom Center. The guard was excellent throughout and posted a triple-double of 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds behind 12-of-22 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 shooting from deep.

Fellow MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander impressed on the other end with 30 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals, but it wasn't enough to come away with a win.

That is in large part because of Dončić, who drew rave reviews from social media:

This series has been back-and-forth, but momentum was on the side of the Thunder coming into this one after Gilgeous-Alexander took over in crunch time on the road in Game 4 to steal back home-court advantage.

However, the Mavericks missed the memo.

The visitors built a 10-point halftime lead with Dončić dialed in as he hit from three-point range, unleashed an alley-oop pass to Dereck Lively II from nearly full-court and battled for boards. Throw in Derrick Jones Jr. catching fire from three-point range on his way to 19 points, and Dallas set the tone even in front of a raucous crowd.

Dončić's performance in particular was encouraging for the Mavericks considering the various ailments he has played through during this series, which has led to inconsistent production from the five-time All-Star.

The Dallas defense also continued to play well into the second half, which allowed it to add to its lead heading to the fourth quarter. Yet the Mavericks also controlled large portions of Game 4 just to lose their lead down the stretch, so the pressure was still on to finish the contest.

Dončić recognized that and took over to start the fourth with an and-1, midrange floater and three-pointer to extend the lead to 18. It was only when the Thunder started doubling him and getting the ball out of his hands that they built any momentum and worked their way back into the game.

Still, the cushion was enough that timely scoring from P.J. Washington and Jones in the final minutes was more than enough to secure the win for the Mavericks. Dončić even blocked Gilgeous-Alexander in transition for good measure.

Now Dallas will look to close out the series at home in Saturday's Game 6.