Oklahoma City wasn't just the best team in the Western Conference. The Thunder had far and away the top record in the West, six games better than the next closest team.

But after sweeping the Pelicans in the first round and burying Dallas by 22 points in Game 1, the Thunder have dropped the past two games.

Aside from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder are getting underachieving scoring from their four other starters. Dallas, on the other hand, is getting shocking offensive production from P.J. Washington. He's averaging 28 points in the past two games after averaging fewer than 13 points per game during the regular season. He is 12-for-23 (52 percent) from 3-point range in the last two games after shooting 32.4 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season.

Washington's surprising hot hand has covered up that Luka Doncic is not nearly at 100 percent bothered by both a knee sprain and ankle soreness.

I expect the Thunder to step up their game, make a necessary adjustment on Washington and even the series with a win today. The Thunder had their chance leading by 10 points in the third quarter in Game 3. They weren't sharp and poised enough, though, to hold that lead. Lesson learned. Oklahoma City is the better team and will prove it here.