Luka Doncic dares NBA legend to jinx the Thunder again for Game 6

Later tonight, the Dallas Mavericks play their biggest game of the season thus far as they have a chance to close out the Oklahoma City Thunder on their home floor to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Luka Doncic and the Mavs were phenomenal in Game 5, as they defeated the Thunder by 12 points. Doncic's focus on not complaining to the officials and just playing basketball benefitted him hugely in this game, as he finished with a 31-point triple-double.

While the Mavericks are getting tons of credit now for how they dismantled the Thunder in Game 5, the same can't be said about the way people were talking about Dallas before the game.

Luka Doncic dares Charles Barkley to jinx the Thunder again for Game 6

On TNT ahead of Dallas' Game 5 win over the Thunder, Charles Barkley predicted that the Mavs were going to get blown out by Oklahoma City. He said that he thought the Thunder were going to "run (the Dallas Mavericks) out of the building" in Game 5, and Barkley's confidence in the Thunder backfired on him.

Dallas' defense was excellent in Game 5 as they held the Thunder to under 100 points. For those who are superstitious, you could even say that Barkley jinxed the Thunder in a way, and Doncic suggested that Barkley should jinx Oklahoma City again.

After the game when being interviewed, Doncic said his message to Barkley was "maybe next time he can say it again in the next game, so maybe we’ll win again.”

Doncic laughingly said that he wants Barkley to jinx the Thunder again, and only time will tell if the Mavs can pull off a big win against Oklahoma City tonight. Outside of the disappointing Game 1 loss in which Doncic struggled, Dallas has proved they are the better team in this series and have been playing like it.

Dallas' defense is forcing Oklahoma City into tough shots, and they have done a great job at limiting secondary scorers outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander continues to play like the MVP candidate that he was, but the Mavs limiting those around him have helped them get out to this 3-2 series lead.

Everyone knows that the Mavs should avoid having to play in a Game 7 on the road against the Thunder at all costs, and maybe Doncic and Dallas could even benefit from Barkley's confidence in Oklahoma City (if he decides to go that route again).

For all the latest on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024 NBA Playoffs and their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, stay tuned.