Dallas Mavericks’ talisman Luka Doncic admitted that the second game of the Western Conference semifinal was the hardest he has played in his career. Doncic isn’t in the best shooting form and was playing with a sprained right knee.

Doncic scored 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 on Thursday night and even the Western Conference semifinals at 1-1.

“It was just my mentality,” said Doncic, who also recorded 10 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a blocked shot. “I think today was one of the hardest game I had to play. I’m battling out there. I try and do my best to help [the] team win with just my mentality. Have a great start, and then the team’s going to follow me.”

Doncic was able to hit the ground running, scoring 16 points in the first quarter as the Thunder had no answers.

Kyrie Irving said it was crucial to back Doncic to the hilt as he holds the key to their success.

“Some of those shots are a centimetre off or an inch off,” said Mavs guard Kyrie Irving, who was held to nine points but matched his playoff career high with 11 assists. “We know Luka very well, so we’re not worried relatively, but we understand that we have to continue to feed him confidence. But it starts with him, and he knows that in order for us to be successful, he’s going to have to play his role in his team and be a star of the team. And when it’s our time to star in our role, he gives us that chance.”

Meanwhile, Mavs forward P.J. Washington played a key role, scoring his first career playoff double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

“P.J. was amazing,” Doncic said. “We went to him the first play. We’ve got to do that more. We’ve got to give him the ball more.”

The third game of the series will be played on Saturday.