A Look at Dirk Nowitzki’s performance in Game-1 of the Western Conference Finals
Dirk Nowitzki is a handful for any defence in the league, even when he not at his best.
However, when the German sharp-shooter is in his zone, like he was on Tuesday night in the game-1 of the Western Conference Finals, guarding him is almost an impossible task. The Oklahoma City Thunder know it firsthand now.
The 32-year-old power forward launched a 48 point blitz as the impressive Dallas Mavericks beat Oklahoma City 121-112 in the series opener at the American Airlines Center.
Nowitzki rocked the cluster of 20,911 home fans, who echoed the chants of MVP, almost every time he went for a shot. While compiling these 48 points, Nowitzki shot a mind boggling 12-of-15 from the field and a perfect 24 from the
charity stripe. Nowitzki, not only toppled the NBA playoff-record with his performance from the free throw line, but also had six rebounds, four assists, and four blocks in the victory.
Nowitzki, a ten-time NBA All-Star, remained the main problem for the Thunder from the very first shot until the final buzzer. He bounced back from a mediocre performance in the previous game against the Los Angeles Lakers, when
he added just 17 points in 122-86 winning cause, one that swept the two-time defending champions out of the playoffs.
OKC’s strategy against Dirk was simple; they tried to double team. Nowitzki was like glue on Tuesday night and every Thunder defender wanted a piece of him. However, Nowitzki out-thought the Thunder play book and not created openings
for the rest of the Mavs’ cast but also faked them throughout to make it to the free throw stripe. The Mavericks forward made 13 free throws in the third quarter alone. He also made good use of his lanky frame and continuously shot over his opponents, who
desperately tried to contest him.
Nowitzki acknowledged the support of his teammates in this regard and stated, "I was really looking to shoot early and was able to get my rhythm after the first couple of shots," "I kept attacking and my teammates kept feeding
me and feeding me and I was able to take advantage over some smaller players."
The Thunder managed to tighten up things in the final minutes of the quarter, as Kevin Durant began to blossom. However, Nowitzki protected the Mavericks’ lead down the stretch with two straight jumpers over the outstretched arms
of 6-foot-10 Serge Ibaka, and then handed an assist to Terry for a 3, with 28.9 seconds remaining in the game. He managed to score eight of his 48 points in the last two minutes of the game.
The Thunder’s head coach Scott Brooks praised the great contribution of Nowitzki and said, "He is been doing it for many years against a lot of great players. He had good rhythm. He got off to a good start. He was making shots
and we were fouling his jump shots. That is too many fouls. We have to do a better job of guarding him. We have to make some adjustments, and we will."
Oklahoma City’s coach is very right; they really have to come up with a better defense against Nowitzki in the next game. Otherwise, it can create some serious problems for them.
Tags: