Dallas Mavericks again stun the Oklahoma City Thunder late; head to the NBA Finals with a 100-96 win
One night ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder coughed up a 15-point advantage in the final few minutes of the game-4 and allowed a certain Dirk Nowitzki to take them to the brink.
They never learned from their mistakes tonight or perhaps they just didn’t have the goods to stop Nowitzki.
The assault form the German sharp-shooter wasn’t as brutal as in the game-4, neither was it so single handed this time, but it was still enough to knock the Oklahoma City Thunder out of the championship contention. Trailing by 4 points deep in the fourth, Nowitzki assisted by Shawn Marion rallied for the Mavs, who beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96 in a thrilling game-5 of the Western Conference finals. Nowitzki hit a breath-taking go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:14 remaining while and Marion followed him with a three-point play to seal the game for good.
With this victory, the Mavericks have become the first team to qualify for the NBA finals this season and this gives them a golden chance to win the champion ship, a feat they have never achieved before.
Shawn Marion and Nowitzki scored 26 points apiece while guards Jose Barea and Jason Terry came off the bench with 14 and 12 points respectively. Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook tried his level best and scored a game-high 31 points in the defeat. The 22-year-old also added eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Kevin Durant and James Harden each chipped in with 23 points for Oklahoma City while Nick Collison ended with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds off the bench.
Dallas opened the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take an initial. However, Durant scored 12 of his 23 points in the opening quarter as the Thunder carried a one point lead, 27-26, into the second. The Thunder played well in the second quarter and stretched their lead to 50-43 with 03:26 to go in the first half. Marion scored six of his points in the last three minutes of the second as the Mavs managed to show only three down, 55-52, at halftime.
Both teams played a close game throughout the third quarter but the Thunder got nice lifts from Westbrook and Harden deep in the quarter, taking a 76-72 lead into the final stanza.
Leading by four points after three quarters, Oklahoma City got off to a good start in the fourth quarter and stretched their lead to 87-79 early in the fourth. However, the Mavs were back on track as they managed to make it a four-point contest, 94-90, with 03:38 to go in the game.
Dallas then scored eight unanswered points to go ahead by 98-94. With 33 seconds to go, Westbrook scored 2-of-2 free throws to cut the deficit to two. Nowitzki however drew a foul on the next possession and hit a pair of free throw to make it 100-96 for the Mavericks with 13 seconds to go. The Thunder was unable to handle the pressure as Durant and Harden missed three-pointers in the closing seconds.
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