Mavs Game Night: Can Mavs Resuscitate the Red River Rivalry?

by Damian Jackson on March 17, 2013 in Mavs 09 comments

You will remember the last time Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder came to Dallas; he poured in a career-high 52 points to complete the 117-114 overtime road victory.

Durant and crew are in the AAC once again to take on the Dallas Mavericks. While the Mavs fight for the final playoff spot, the Thunder own the league’s third best record and continue to jockey with San Antonio Spurs for the West’s top seed.

Dallas let a close one slip away against the Spurs a few nights ago, but rebounded with a 96-86 home win on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Mavs are in a stretch right now that has them playing 8 of the next 9 games at home.

The Mavs will be without Shawn Marion (calf strain) for the sixth straight game. His defensive impact will be sorely missed against Durant.

Team is all important to these Mavericks and recently, the Mavs have been getting solid play from its role players.

“We have to make sure that everybody’s ready,” Roddy Beaubois said. “Even if you don’t play, the next game maybe you’re going to get in.”

Roddy has seen plenty of nights pass by when the only time he’s gotten off the bench is to cheer on his teammates. Friday he was called upon to play and he sure took advantage of those 22 minutes. He scored 18 points, dished out five assists and grabbed three boards.

Meanwhile, Brandan Wright has given the Mavericks great production in March. In seven games played this month Wright averages 11.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 68-percent shooting.

[VIDEO] Brandan Wright Two-Hand Flush on the Break

“Anybody can get in a nice groove when they play a lot of minutes in a row and kind of know when they’re going back in and that they’re going to get opportunities,” Wright said.

 

“That’s a big-time comfort level. It can get tough being on the other side of the stick, because I’ve been there before.

The Mavericks will need to play near perfect basketball to avoid a 10th consecutive defeat against these Thunder. As has been the case for the Mavs all season, the drive to compete exists but the ability to close has not.

Jae Crowder will likely take the first crack at covering Durant, which happens to be a major size advantage for the NBA’s leading scorer. Crowder rung in a career-best 14 rebounds on Friday as he continues to improve with the ample playing time he’s received in wake of trade and injury.

Newest Maverick Chris Wright scored his first two points on a layup with under a minute to go in Friday’s win over the Cavs.

Dallas seeks to reverse the trend and battle the odds against them in this one. Stranger things have happened as people love to say. Time to resuscitate the Red River rivalry.

____________________

Playoff Picture Update:

MAVERICKS - 10th seed in West; 3 GB of the Los Angeles Lakers for final playoff spot.

THUNDER - 2nd seed in West; 1.5 GB of San Antonio Spurs.

____________________

Thunder at Mavs tips at 6:30 p.m. CT and airs on FSSW/FSOK.

Let’s Go Mavs!

Source: ESPN & ESPN Dallas

Back to Top

Mavs Game Night: Mavs Hot, Renew Rivalry With Thunder

by Damian Jackson on January 18, 2013 in Mavs 09 comments

One tied to either the Dallas Mavericks or Oklahoma City Thunder has to be excited for this Red River showdown tonight in the American Airlines Center and shown nationally on ESPN.

Now in terms of victories, since the Mavs sent the Thunder home in the 2011 playoffs, the Thunder led by elite 24-year-olds Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have won eight of the last nine ball games.

It’s a little deceptive because the actual games have been much more competitive than the ultimate outcome. In the eight losses the Mavs have lost only by an average of 5 ½ points. Of course, the wins matter, not moral victories are close defeats. However, the Mavs always tend to compete until the end against OKC and tonight ought to be no different.

While Dallas is hot and on a four-game win streak, the Thunder own the league’s best win streak of five games along with the top record of 31-8. You couldn’t ask for a better time for these two to tussle.

This game means a hell of a lot more to the Mavericks. Durant and his crew are clear cut title contenders and cruising through the first half of the season. On the other hand, the Mavs are playing some of their best basketball with Dirk Nowitzki back and despite the win streak are still six games below .500.

Dirk and the Mavs understand the need to avoid the idea of ‘fool’s gold’ and they want to take down an elite opponent. A win against the NBA-best Thunder would infuse the team with even more confidence and advance the climb back into the playoff chase.

Facing the Thunder will require an intense defensive effort from the Mavs and more specifically Shawn Marion’s coverage on the recently announced West All-Star starting forward Durant. In the last meeting Durant exploded for 40 points in their 111-105 overtime win.

Westbrook, who certainly will be named an All-Star reserve, comes into tonight’s matchup averaging 34 points over his last two games. It’s always tough when he’s got his shot falling, because it’s the defensive preference opposed to allowing Westbrook attack the basket.

A key to the Mavericks success of late has been their much improved ball protection. The four-game streak consists of 101 Mavs assists and only 40 turnovers (25.3 APG to 10 TPG). With turnovers numbers dropping and assist totals increasing, the Mavs are limiting opponent possessions and increasing their own quality offensive looks.

Dirk will play this time and he’s coming off a night against the Houston Rockets in which he led the Mavs with 19 points.

“That 3 at the end of the third helped me get my rhythm. Sometimes all you need is to see the ball go through the hoop one time.”

It was the fourth quarter where Dirk really got things going and helped close out the win. It was his frontcourt teammate Elton Brand though who sealed the win with a key block of James Harden.

“The play of the game was Elton’s block,” said Nowitzki. “He said he’s got lots of practice since I let my man go by me all the time. That was a heck of a play.”

The idea of Brand actually moving to the starting lineup has been discussed. The fact Dirk and EB play much better together than starting center Chris Kaman and Dirk makes a strong case for the change.

“It’s a good question. It’s a valid question,” said Rick Carlisle. “I don’t know if we’re at a point yet where it’s time to change, but we’ll see. I’m for giving everything a legitimate chance and then making the decision to stay with it or to change course.”

Whether it’s Kaman or Brand who starts, the importance lies in who finishes. Brand professed his desire to close games rather than start and the recent games have seen that take place.

The play of the Mavericks bench could play a role in the outcome tonight. Let’s assume EB won’t start, we’ll need to see strong efforts from the likes of Vince Carter and Jae Crowder as well. The 3-ball has been kind to Crowder lately (8-14 3PT over last 7 games).

Veteran guard Mike James made enough of an impression to earn another 10-day contract. It was his intense prowl defensively on Jeremy Lin that earned him late game minutes on Wednesday night.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m not supposed to be nowhere but the NBA,” said James.

Perhaps the Mavs need a guy with James’ attitude to help run the ship along with the younger, electric Collison.

For Oklahoma City this may be just another game along their pleasant ride atop the NBA standings, but the Mavericks know this type of game can decide they’re ultimate destination.

Mavs and Thunder – they’re ready. Are you Mavs fans?!?

The game will tip around 8:30 p.m. CT and airs on ESPN and FSSW.

Sources: ESPN; ESPNDallas; TheTwoManGame

Back to Top

Mavs Game Night: Mavs Look To Get Back On Track

by Ryan Wilson on December 27, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

One would assume that tonight’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and host Oklahoma City Thunder would be an ideal Western Conference showdown.

There’s a problem though, it’s not 2010, but rather the end of 2012. This isn’t our Mavericks of old with savvy veterans, a host of defenders and a healthy Dirk Nowitzki playing at an all-time high.

We have Dirk, Shawn Marion and Rick Carlisle. Over on their side still stands Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and head coach Scott Brooks. Swap out James Harden for Kevin Martin and the Thunder look relatively the same, but Dallas lurks as a former shell of itself.

No longer is there that rock of point guard stability named Jason Kidd. Kidd’s wisdom and post-prime talents are now at work for the Knicks. It only took Dirk’s 20 minute season debut to realize the drop in the mental advantage of his current point guards.

“Our basketball IQ obviously went down a little bit with J-Kidd leaving,” Nowitzki told reporters in San Antonio. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”

Obvious, you are correct Dirk. The lack of basic basketball smarts has outweighed the benefits of new youth and energy.

“Offensively, our decision-making has been brutal. We’re averaging 20 [turnovers] a night. It’s impossible to win, especially on the road.”

Dirk is used to playing on fundamentally sound veteran squads who have excelled away from home which always had the Mavs in the conversation as a top road team. They’re 4-12 this season.

The Mavs were blitzed in San Antonio 129-91, knocked out with some remarkable shooting from beyond. The Spurs connected on a franchise-record 20 three-pointers led by Danny Green’s six made and 25 points.

Now the task shifts an Oklahoma City team who even at 21-6 come into this one with an edge. The Thunder lost a highly contested NBA Finals rematch on Christmas day against the Miami Heat. Looking to rebound, OKC might feel Dallas is the perfect opponent to bounce back.

There’s no such thing as a perfect game in basketball, right?

You could get tricky and specific with details, but the point is our Mavs will have to be close to perfect to win tonight. The Thunder will feast on our turnovers and an overflow of easy baskets could swing this into a Red River massacre.

National television hasn’t been favorable for the Mavericks this season. Tonight’s game will be seen on TNT. In the five national TV games the Mavs are only 1-4. The lone win was opening night’s surprise 99-91 win against the LA Lakers.

The Mavs enter having lost three straight by double figures and each by an average of 21 points.

Dirk will continue to come off the bench for the Mavs as he gradually catches up to full game speed and conditioning.

Mavs at Thunder tips at 7:00 p.m. CT

We need a win to get Mavs Nation Rowdy, Loud and Proud! GoDallas!

Back to Top

Pre Game Report: Dallas Mavericks (3-3) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3)

by Ryan Wilson on October 24, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

Our Dallas Mavericks (3-3) are in Wichita,Kansas for a meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3) Wednesday night. The Western Conference power Thunder abruptly ended the Mavericks disappointing 2011-2012 title-defense campaign.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook lead the still very young and athletic, but now well experienced Thunder. Coach Scott Brooks rested stars Durant and Westbrook Tuesday night inChicagodue to a back-to-back situation, but both are expected to play tonight. Serge Ibaka led the team with 24 points and eight rebounds in a 94-89 defeat. Rookie Perry Jones III added 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.

Fourth-year guard James Harden has struggled shooting the ball in the preseason. Harden and the Thunder have had contract extension talks, but a resolution hasn’t been met. In three games, Harden is connecting on a only 24-percent of his field goals and 23-percent from deep.

The Mavericks play tonight’s game short-handed once again. Dirk Nowitzki (knee) and Chris Kaman (calf) did not play in Monday’s 87-74 home win over the New Orleans Hornets. Veterans Shawn Marion and Vince Carter stayed back in Dallas for a scheduled night off.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle will rely heavily on the younger guys without his entire starting frontcourt. Rookies Jae Crowder and Bernard “Sarge” James figure to log ample playing time.

Crowder continued his hot streak Monday night, scoring in double figures (12 points; 5-5 FT) for the fourth consecutive game. Brandan Wright, who left Monday’s game in the fourth with a tightened quad, has blocked at least two shots in the past four games. Wright expects to play tonight.

Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo will start their seventh straight game together in the Mavs backcourt. We’ve seen both the positives and negatives from Collison and Mayo as the gradually adjust toCarlisle’s system and one another.

Collison possesses lightening quick speed and needs to consistently utilize it to his advantage in the half-court, but even more on the fast-break. He’s done an admirable job thus far creating for his teammates and picking his own spots to score. Watch Collison continually improve from game to game as his comfort levels increase and he makes adjustments within the Mavs system.

Reserve guard/forward Dahntay Jones will likely join Crowder with the arduous task of slowing down the silky smooth, two-time reigning scoring champ Durant.

A Red River rivalry has developed between the Mavericks and Thunder over the past few seasons. This will be an excellent test for the decimated Mavs and allows them to see which guys have it in them to step up as a go-to guy.Carlisle will provide guys the opportunity tonight.

Game action tips at 7 p.m. CT and available to watch on Fox Sports Southwest.

Back to Top

Heat Hold Off Thunder

by Ryan Wilson on June 15, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

LeBron James has seen his share of great starts turn into faulty finishes.

So with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh providing the help he needed, he wasn’t letting another one get away Thursday night.

James scored 32 points, got a disputed big stop on Kevin Durant and the Miami Heat held off a furious fourth-quarter rally behind their three All-Stars to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96, tying the NBA Finals at one game apiece.

“We had played too well in the first 36 minutes to try to let this one slip away from us,” James said. “We just wanted to make one more, two more plays than they made and come out with a victory and we were able to do that.”

Wade rebounded from a poor opener to add 24 points and Bosh had 16 points and 15 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for the Heat, who snapped a four-game Finals losing streak with their first victory since Game 3 against Dallas last year.

“It’s been so long since we’ve had them all together,” Heat forward Shane Battier said. “They played like the All-Stars that they are and that’s the effort that we need.”

Now they go home to host Game 3 on Sunday and the next two after that, knowing they don’t have to hear the noisy Thunder fans again — not to mention all their critics — if they win all three.

Miami blew a 13-point lead in Game 1 and seemed headed toward a repeat of the second game of the Finals last year, when it blew a 15-point edge on its home floor.

Not this time.

“This is a good team and we didn’t want to be down 2-0,” Bosh said. “We know in order to accomplish our goal, we have to win on the road. We’re a good road team. We’ve done it before. They posed a great challenge because they haven’t lost up until today. But we felt that we let one get away and we felt that we could play a much, much better game in Game 2.”

Durant scored 32 points for the Thunder but missed a short jumper with 9.9 seconds left after appearing to be bumped by James. The basket would have tied a game the Thunder trailed the entire way.

Oklahoma City’s explosive point guard Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but shot 10-of-26 from the field.

James Harden tried to keep the Thunder in it early and finished with 21 points, but this time the Thunder couldn’t come back from a double-digit deficit after spotting Miami a 17-point advantage during their worst first half of the season.

“That was the game. We can’t start off down 18-2,” Durant said. “We can’t go down that much, especially at home. We’ve got to correct it.”

It was the first home loss in 10 postseason games for the Thunder, who had overcome a 13-point deficit in Game 1.

James had what was his career high, 30 points, in the opener, but afterward said Wade needed to be Wade — All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and finals MVP.

In Game 1, Wade was 7-of-19. He wasn’t sharp in the last round and continues to hear reports that something is physically wrong with him. He was all but asked Wednesday if his explosiveness was a thing of the past, what must have been insulting to a player who, though 30, still believes he’s not far from the top of the game.

Wade bounced back in a big way, not quite at the level he was as the 2006 Finals MVP, but certainly good enough with the help around him now for the Heat to win another one.

“Just know that I’m always going to keep coming back until I don’t play this game no more,” Wade said. “I know my abilities, I know what I’m capable of and it was good.”

He spun into the lane and found Bosh for a dunk that seemed to have the Heat safe at 98-91 inside the final minute, but a 3-pointer by Durant cut it to 98-96 with 37 seconds left. After James missed a 3-pointer, the Thunder got the ball into Durant, who appeared to be knocked off balance by James as he missed the baseline shot attempt.

Durant said only that he missed the shot, saying he would have to watch the tape to see if he was fouled.

James then sank the insurance free throws — finishing a 12-for-12 night at the line — as fans booed loudly over the no-call.

Bosh started after coming off the bench in every game since returning late last round from his nine-game absence with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The Big Three joined Battier and Mario Chalmers in the lineup, the first time Miami had gone with that first five all season.

It sent the Heat on their way to a terrific start, and Battier matched his surprising 17-point performance in Game 1 by going 5-of-7 from 3-point range, providing all the help the superstar trio needed.

James had his fifth straight 30-point game, breaking Wade’s franchise playoff record, and added eight rebounds. He defended Durant early in Game 1 and helped put the league’s scoring champion in early foul trouble, just one of the problems the Thunder had early.

Another loud, blue and white crowd tried to inspire them to rally, but the team could just simply never get close enough to until the final minutes.

For most of the first three quarters, the home team would get the deficit to around 10, and James would get himself into the post or drive powerfully into the lane to score or set up a teammate.

Durant nailed a 3-pointer and drove into the lane to throw down a dunk over Battier that cut it to 82-74 with 8:22 remaining. His 3-pointer from the wing trimmed it to 90-86, and the Thunder got it all the way to 94-91 when Westbrook dunked Durant’s miss with 1:48 to go.

James answered by banking in a jumper for his first basket of the final period, as the Big Three combined for all but one of Miami’s seven field goals in the fourth quarter.

The Thunder missed 11 of their first 12 shots, and when James capped a run of 13 straight Miami points with a basket, it was 18-2 with 4:51 remaining in the period.

Coach Scott Brooks had talked to his team about its poor starts — this was three straight games with a double-digit deficit — and told the Thunder during a first-quarter timeout that the Heat were playing harder than they were. The Heat kept it up, pushing it to 25-8 on Wade’s jumper with 2:39 left.

“We kept missing good shots,” forward Serge Ibaka said. “We can do better.”

 

Game notes

The Heat used their 25th different lineup in their 86 games this season, including seventh of the postseason. The most frequently used lineup in the regular season, with James, Wade, Bosh, Chalmers and center Joel Anthony, has not opened a game in the postseason after going 27-10 during the regular season. … Reserve James Jones checked in for the Heat in the first quarter after missing Game 1 with a migraine. … Former Oklahoma star running back Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings was at the game. … A powerful storm knocked out cable in many South Florida homes, keeping Heat fans from seeing the entire game.

 

 

 

Back to Top

Thunder? Heat? Allow Us

by Ryan Wilson on June 13, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

Call yourself a Mavs fan?  Then root for the Heat.

Some of your minds are blown, I know. But just bear with me…….

Here’s an example that might clear it up, assuming you know anything about baseball and you’re a Texas Rangers fan.

In 2002, The SF Giants faced off against the Anaheim Angels.  The hated Barry Bonds vs. the Rally Monkey Angels.  Remember? I’m sure at the time, some Ranger fans were rooting for the Angels.  What was the harm right?  A lesser known team of scrappy ball players was making a run in October.  Plus most of you all loved to root against Barry Bonds.  But looking back, how dirty does it make you feel for rooting for the Angels in 2002?  Now that the Rangers/Angels rivalry is heated up, I despise the fact that the Angels fan base has ammo in a sports talk battle.  The dreaded, “We have a ring, how ‘bout you?”

What’s your point, Tony?

My point is that Lebron James is playing the part of Barry Bonds in these NBA finals.  Hated and despised for their own separate reasons, but hated none the less.  The OKC Thunder are the sweet little team that peaked a little earlier than planned like the 2002 Angels.  80% of Mavs nation is pulling for the Thunder.  I’ve cleverly come up with “80%” based solely off text messages and tweets.  But there is a healthy majority of Dallas Mavericks fans that are rooting for OKC simply because of their hate for the Miami Heat.  The hate is deserved and warranted.  But it’s misplaced.

My warning to you today is that in a few years when the Mavericks/Thunder rivalry reaches the level of Mavericks/Spurs, you’ll REGRET ever pulling for the Thunder.  You’ll despise the fact that they have as many championships as our Mavericks.  You’ll hear the Thunder’s new found fans talk trash and I guarantee you’ll hear this; “OKC has only been around for 4 years and we already have as many rings as Dallas.”  (Although we all know they were the Supersonics before moving to OKC so the 4 years thing is a little skewed.  But we wouldn’t expect a fan base like OKC’s to be clever enough to take that into consideration.  Ouch! SHOTS FIRED!).  Not to mention the fact that OKC has had minimal hardships on the way to the Larry O’Brien trophy, if they happen to win it.  Look at our precious Mavs, YEARS of torture and heartache.  Do we really want to see a young, cocky, brash, streaky shooting team from Oklahoma win a title?  So easily?  Nope.

Also, another reason to root for Miami is rather simple.  By the Mavericks beating the Heat last year, it will make our title look even better.  Miami would’ve taken down the favorites, OKC.  The Mavs would be the only team to solve and conquer the 3 headed Miami beast.  Our trophy will be shinier for this.  Just trust me.

Mavs fans, think this through and root against the Thunder.  Your future self will appreciate it.

Back to Top

Thunder Back In Series

by Ryan Wilson on June 1, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

The streak is over. The series might only be beginning.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points, Thabo Sefolosha set playoff career bests with 19 points and six steals, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped San Antonio’s 20-game winning streak by beating the Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night.

Oklahoma City closed its series deficit to 2-1 and will host Game 4 on Saturday night.

“We never thought these guys had an advantage over us even though we had lost a few,” Durant said. “It was just good that we took it to 2-1. We didn’t want to go down 0-3.”

Sefolosha threw a wrench in the Spurs’ well-oiled offense at the start, getting four steals in the first 3 minutes. The Spurs ended up committing a postseason-worst 21 turnovers and scoring their fewest points all season.

San Antonio had been averaging 109.4 points per game during its month-and-a-half winning streak and had been held to double-digits only twice.

“We just played a good basketball game,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “We played with a lot of force, we played with good energy, but we played defensive-minded basketball.

“That’s who we are. That’s how we win.”

Tony Parker and Stephen Jackson led the Spurs with 16 points apiece. Tim Duncan had 11 points on 5 for 15 shooting, taking 11 of San Antonio’s first 25 shots as the offense went through the All-Star center instead of Parker.

“They played like it was a closeout game, both offensively and defensively,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They were very active, physical; they moved the ball well on offense. They did all those things better than we did. They beat us good.”

The Spurs, who already set an NBA record for the longest winning streak carried over from the regular season into the playoffs, were trying to match the league mark for most wins to start the postseason. The Lakers won 11 straight to start the 1989 and 2001 playoffs, getting swept in the NBA Finals the first time and winning it all the second.

The Spurs hadn’t lost since April 11 at home against the Lakers.

“We are a prideful team. It’s no fun being down 0-2. It’s no fun,” Brooks said. “But we weren’t looking at the game thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, we have a chance to be down 0-3.’ We were looking at the game that we have a chance to be 1-2 after this game, and I give our guys a lot of credit. They believe in each other and they always play hard for each other.”

Parker and Duncan didn’t play in the final 15 minutes, and Popovich pulled the plug after a series of three straight turnovers allowed the deficit to reach 23 points early in the fourth quarter.

Sefolosha had a right-handed dunk off a lob pass from Russell Westbrook, who followed with his own two-handed jam on an alley-oop pass, and Sefolosha followed with a reverse layup on another turnover-fueled fast-break chance to push the lead to 86-63 with 9:48 left.

The Thunder put together another 9-0 run coinciding with Manu Ginobili coming out of the game and featuring Serge Ibaka sticking his tongue out after nailing a jumper from the top of the key. Brooks soon followed Popovich and pulled his own front-line players with the game well in hand.

“You’re not going to beat this team by playing one-effort basketball,” Brooks said. “You’re going to have to have two, three, four, even five. And they make you do that because they pass the ball so well, they spread the floor so well.”

Popovich said the Thunder played harder and smarter than the Spurs.

“They did definitely play with a lot more energy, a lot more passion than us tonight,” said Parker, who committed five turnovers.

The Spurs wiped out a 24-point deficit in Game 3 against the Clippers in Los Angeles in the previous round, but they weren’t recovering in this one.

San Antonio managed only 24 points in the paint after averaging 46 through the first two games of the series and 47.8 through the playoffs.

Oklahoma City already held a 28-8 scoring edge in the paint while taking a 54-41 halftime lead, and it never got better for San Antonio, which couldn’t get any closer than 11 points in the second half.

“We wanted to bounce back after two losses like that. We had to play better and we did that tonight,” Sefolosha said. “We played with energy; we played with passion in front of our home crowd. They did a great job giving us a lift.”

The Thunder scored the game’s first eight points, feeding off Sefolosha’s steals, but San Antonio recovered in time to take the lead with more than 5 minutes left in the opening period.

Oklahoma City took the lead early in the second quarter, and there was no looking back.

Sefolosha set up Ibaka’s two-handed dunk and hit a 3-pointer during a 13-1 run, with San Antonio’s only point coming on a free throw by Ginobili after Durant was called for a technical foul while arguing a call from the bench.

Oklahoma City’s lead ballooned to 15 when Kendrick Perkins grabbed Westbrook’s air ball and dunked it with two hands.

 

Game notes

Duncan did have five blocks to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA playoff record of 476 by one. … Rapper Lil Wayne tweeted before the game that he planned to attend but “was denied by the team to be in their arena.” Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney said the rapper’s representatives demanded front-row seats but none were available. “We’d love to have him at a game, but like anyone else, he needs a ticket,” Mahoney said. … Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin presented TNT analyst and former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley with a pair of boots, a steak and an order of lamb fries — a dish that leaves the otherwise undesirable part of the anatomy out of its name — during the pregame show.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Back to Top

Different Thunder This Time Around

by Ryan Wilson on May 6, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

For the fourth time in these playoffs, Dirk Nowitzki clambered onto the dais, dislodged the microphone from its stand and draped his left arm over an adjacent chair as he took questions about the multitude of problems caused by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

For the last time, too.

Four looks at Nowitzki’s signature routine at the postgame podium are all you’re getting this postseason, amazingly, after the Thunder ran the same pick-and-roll play an astounding 16 times in Saturday night’s fourth quarter to broom the defenseless defending champs right out of the first round.

The last team standing in 2011 became the first team eliminated in 2012 when Thunder coach Scotty Brooks, having lost Kendrick Perkins early and facing a 13-point deficit late, simply handed the ball to James Harden and watched him dice up Dallas repeatedly on a play called “Angle.”

 

 

 

“If you look at the team we just lost to, it was [Russell] Westbrook in Game 1 and Game 2, it was Durant [in Game 3], and today they just throw it to Harden and he goes off,” Nowitzki said.

“If you want to be an elite team in this league right now, you have to have at least two or three guys that can just go off at any time. I just thought they had more weapons than us. That was pretty clear.”

That’s apparently not all the maturing Thunder have, either.

“The thing that impressed me most about them is that they have a certain look in their eye right now,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Not just that they belong, but that this could be their time. They came at us like a buzz saw in the fourth quarter.”

It’s a gleam that Carlisle knows and remembers well. The Mavs had it this time last year and used that edge, along with their considerable experience and hunger, to boss the Thunder in the Western Conference finals in another deceptively short series, filled with close games like this one.

That, though, was last season … something else Carlisle knows better than anyone. Nowitzki (34 points) and Jason Kidd (16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the finale of his first season without a single triple-double) stubbornly tried to drag Dallas to a Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Monday night, if only for pride, but ultimately they couldn’t prevent a hasty end to one of the most bizarre, conflicted and ultimately disappointing title defenses in the history of North American team sports.

Of its key personnel, apart from bargain signing Brandan Wright, Nowitzki and Kidd are the only two Mavericks who know for sure that they’re welcome back in 2012-13. That even applies to Carlisle, whose original four-year contract expires in June and whose status as one of just three active coaches to have won a championship (alongside San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Boston’s Doc Rivers) hasn’t yet moved Mavs owner Mark Cuban to make an exception to his longstanding aversion to extending current contracts for anyone not named Nowitzki.

These are the circumstances that everyone in Big D at least understood, if not accepted, when the lockout ended in December and culture-changing center Tyson Chandler was sign-and-traded to New York. The failed gamble on Lamar Odom – billed as Dallas’ answer to a wild card like Harden for a season — realistically snuffed out any hope of a playoff run of any substance … which only strengthened the notion around the league that the Mavs’ primary objective this season was winning the offseason.

Only now the offseason has arrived faster than any Mav imagined even in their nightmare scenarios. Nowitzki, for starters, insisted from the interview podium that he couldn’t yet process the idea that title-team stalwarts such as Jason Terry and Shawn Marion might have made their final appearances in Mavs colors on Cinco de Mayo, despite Dallas’ well-chronicled intentions to clear as much salary-cap space as possible in July to try to steal North Texas’ own Deron Williams away from the Brooklyn Nets.

“The end kind of snuck up on us now,” Nowitzki said.

Carlisle tried to sound an optimistic note, comparing Chandler’s departure to Steve Nash‘s in 2004: “I remember when Nash left, everyone thought this thing was over. But Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban, they have a resourcefulness about them.”

The reality, though, is that, to use the local football parlance, Dallas has seen the goalposts move since letting Chandler go. Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com this week that the Mavs were convinced early on in their 2012 planning that having sufficient salary-cap space to be able to legitimately recruit Dwight Howard alongside Williams was the surest route to landing Williams. The problem there, of course, is Howard’s unexpected decision in March to delay his free agency to 2013 has left Williams solo on the Mavs’ list of “big fish” — to use a term both Nelson and Nowitzki have mentioned to local reporters — while they remain well shy of possessing the requisite trade assets to offer Orlando for Dwight via trade.

And it naturally doesn’t take a great leap from there to start asking yourself if a frontcourt duo of Nowitzki and Chandler, had Dallas independently elected to spend what it took to keep them together, might have appealed to D-Will more than any other potential tandem of teammates he’s offered this summer now that hooking up with Howard is no longer feasible.

We just don’t know yet.

I’ve believed from the start that Cuban, after delivering Dallas its first NBA crown and spending millions in luxury tax over his decade-plus in charge to get there, has more than earned the right to try to build a team any new way he sees fit. Yet the huge risk remains for him that Dallas has no fish of consequence to pursue if Williams chooses to stay with the Nets, who can offer one more season contractually than the Mavs along with added marketing opportunities because of their new address.

One source well-acquainted with Williams’ thinking told ESPN.com this weekend that the Mavericks, in their current state, have no better than a “50-50 shot” of getting D-Will’s signature in July … despite the fact that the Nets aren’t any closer to landing Howard than they are.

“We never had cap space [before],” Nowitzki said. “So they made the decision to go for that and we’ll just have to wait and see what comes out of that. We have no idea now. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the summer or the summer after that. We’ll just have to kind of wait and see who can we get, who’s available and who wants to come here. That’s going to be something we’re going to see in the future. We can’t make a judgment on that now.”

Not unless we bring it back to the Thunder.

It’s not like they’re not without their own dramas. They’ll need Perkins’ strained right hip to heal during this suddenly convenient wait for a winner in the Denver-L.A. Lakers series. And as Carlisle said of Brooks’ own expiring contract and Thunder general manager Sam Presti: “I hope Sam’s got enough money to sign him, because he’s going to be in high demand if they don’t get that done.”

Yet the focus, on merit, needs to stay on the floor after OKC closed the Mavs out with that finishing kick: 35-16 in the fourth.

Which only adds to the perception that one year of experience has made a huge difference in this case.

“Their role players look great,” Nowitzki said. “They have defenders and shot-makers and playmakers and a great shot-blocker [in Serge Ibaka].

“They look really good.”

Said Durant: “The Mavericks went on a nice little run in that third quarter and we didn’t crumble. I think that’s part of our team. We’re growing in that area.”

ESPN.com senior writer Marc Stein

Back to Top

Mavs Swept By Thunder

by Ryan Wilson on May 6, 2012 in Mavs 09 comments

Oklahoma City kept picking and rolling, and James Harden kept making plays.

Instead of giving in and being content going home for a Game 5, the Thunder now are waiting for their next series. Oklahoma City rallied for a 103-97 victory on Saturday night to complete a first-round series sweep of the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

Harden scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including seven in a row and nine in the Thunder’s 12-0 run after they trailed by 13 points with 9:44 left.

“I got into attack mode,” Harden said. “I was determined to make plays.”

After the Harden-fueled surge over 3 minutes got the Thunder within a point, they finally took the lead — and kept it — when Russell Westbrook stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki and passed to Serge Ibakafor a two-handed slam that made it 92-91 with 5:17 left.

“He beat us in individual drives, beat us in pick and rolls. He got up a head of steam and was great,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Harden. “We tried everything, five or six different coverages going. We needed to be better but it was more about how good he was.”

Dallas is the second defending champion in five years to be swept in the first round. After beating the Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals, Miami lost in four games to Chicago the next year.

Kevin Durant had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who will play the winner of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver. The Lakers lead that first-round series 2-1 going into Game 4 on Sunday night in Denver.

“This goes without saying, I’m excited we won the series,” coach Scott Brooks said. “James had an incredible game. We ran pick and rolls at the angles. … He was making plays for himself or our shooters.”

Even when Harden bobbled the ball in the fourth quarter after Oklahoma City took the lead, Derek Fisherended up with it and drove for a layup to make it 96-91. Nowitzki then had a shot that hit the rim a couple of times before falling out.

Nowitzki had 34 points, including all six of his free throws after that. But he also missed a couple of shots in that span, all that were close but not good.

With their 20-something All-Star duo of Durant and Westbrook along with the late-season addition of Fisher, who won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Thunder got the franchise’s first four-game playoff sweep since 1996.

That’s when they were still the Seattle SuperSonics and swept the Houston Rockets in a second-round series.

“If you want to be an elite team in this league, you got to have two or three guys who can go off at any time and I just thought they had more weapons than us,” Nowitzki said.

Oklahoma City finished off the Mavs without starting center Kendrick Perkins, who left the game with 4:09 left in the first quarter with a right hip strain. He had two rebounds, two assists and missed his only shot in his 8 minutes.

Jason Kidd, the Mavericks’ 39-year-old point guard, had 16 points and eight assists.Jason Terry had 11 points in what might have also been his last game in Dallas.

Westbrook and Fisher had 12 points each for the Thunder.

Dallas led 86-73 on a 3-pointer by Terry before Harden scored seven in a row — on a three-point play and two other baskets. Durant then made a 3-pointer, and after Nowitzki was short on a 14-footer, Harden drove for a powerful two-handed slam that got the Thunder within 86-85.

The game was tied at halftime before Nowitzki had 12 points and Kidd made three 3-pointers in the third quarter, when the Mavs scored 34 points to take an 81-68 lead.

Dallas had never been swept in a best-of-seven series. And the Mavericks hadn’t lost four playoff games in a row since the 2006 NBA Finals against the Heat, when they took a 2-0 series lead before losing the rest.

Now they are the oldest team in the NBA, and vastly changed from last year’s championship squad.

Still, the Mavs looked like they were ready after halftime to at least force the series back to Oklahoma City, where they opened the series with two losses by a combined four points before losing by 16 at home in Game 3 on Thursday night.

Nowitzki drove around Ibaka for a tiebreaking one-handed reverse layup less than a minute into the second half, and the lead was up to 64-54 when Shawn Marion had a slam dunk.

The closest the Thunder got the rest of the third quarter was six points, but Kidd stretched that back out with another 3-pointer.

Carlisle had talked during the off day about the Mavericks controlling their emotions after his outburst in the first quarter of Game 3. He had to be held back by an assistant coach when he charged onto the court and was pointing and screaming at an official because of what he said were three missed calls on one possession, ending with Oklahoma City scoring on what appeared to be basket interference.

Before the end of the first quarter Saturday night, Carlisle was mad again — and for good reason.

Kidd had bad pass that went out of bounds, but officials missed that the ball was deflected in the air by Harden. Replays showed clearly that Carlisle had a gripe and that the loud boos were warranted.

Fisher then made it worse by hitting a 22-foot jumper when play resumed. But Vince Carter made a 3-pointer to get the Mavs within 26-24 before drawing a charge from Harden near midcourt.

Game notes
This was Dallas’ 23rd best-of-seven playoff series. The only time the Mavericks had been swept in the postseason was in the a first-round series in 1990 when they lost a best of five against Portland. …. Ibaka fouled out with 2:14 left. … Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who won three Super Bowls for the Cowboys, sat in a front-row seat near midcourt.

 

 

Back to Top