The Oklahoma City Thunder have been dominant all season, so it's only fitting they advanced to the 2024 NBA Cup semifinals.

OKC defeated the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 in Tuesday's quarterfinals showdown at Paycom Center and improved to 19-5 in the process. The Mavericks had no answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who looked the part of potential league MVP with 39 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will face the winner of Wednesday's game between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors in the semifinals in Las Vegas.

The battle between SGA and Luka Dončić was the game within the game, and the Mavericks star couldn't keep up from a scoring perspective with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals on 5-of-15 shooting from the field. Kyrie Irving added 17 points, while Klay Thompson finished with 19.

Dallas saw its seven-game losing streak come to an end in large part because of Gilgeous-Alexander's individual brilliance, and social media had some MVP love for the guard:

There was no shortage of stars in this game, and the brightest one on OKC's side wasted no time setting the tone. Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 16 points in the first quarter alone by mixing in outside shots and unstoppable drives into the lane.

To Dallas' credit, it weathered the early SGA storm and closed the deficit to just three by halftime with Naji Marshall providing a spark. It was much-needed production because Dončić struggled with his shot against the Thunder's physical team defense.

Still, the Mavericks needed more from Dončić if they were going to win on the road against one of the best teams in the NBA.

The five-time All-Star impacted the game in other ways with his rebounding, facilitating and even steals on the defensive end, but the lack of scoring from someone who entered play averaging 28.7 points a night was notable as the Thunder created separation in the third quarter.

It also stood out because Gilgeous-Alexander shifted into takeover mode again for stretches in the third quarter with a combination of drives and pull-ups. That drew additional defensive attention, and Isaiah Joe took full advantage with back-to-back triples all while Dončić entered the fourth quarter with two made field goals.

The second three from Joe came at the third-quarter buzzer after Alex Caruso hustled to keep the possession alive and gave the home team a commanding 17-point lead.

That advantage expanded to as many as 20, although Dallas played its way back into the game with a 10-run that featured back-to-back threes from Irving. Yet all it took was the Thunder putting Gilgeous-Alexander back into the game to seize control again, as his three put an end to the run and his steal set up Cason Wallace in transition.

As long as SGA was on the floor, there was no doubt about the outcome.