Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder win - 2011 NBA Play-offs Game 2 Round-up - Part 3
Dallas Mavericks 101 – Portland Trail Blazers 89
Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks with his game-high 33 points, as the Mavericks played a good all-round game to rout the Portland Trail Blazers in 101-89 victory and clutched a 2-0 lead in the best of seven game series.
The third seeded Mavericks kept their mistakes to minimum and shot well from the three-point range, kept their cool in the paint and played well on the glass too.
"This series is far from over. They play well at home, they make shots and they play tough D, so we've got to be prepared for a tough game on Thursday," Dirk Nowitzki said about the first-round series.
Portland tipped off aggressively and secured the first quarter by two points, the Mavericks made a better effort in the second quarter, but it was the Blazers who dominated the first half of the game and led Dallas 52-50 at the half-time.
After the break, the Mavericks set the stage on fire with their furious assault, as Jason Kidd gave them a smashing start by hitting nine straight points, including a three-pointer that pushed the score to a 50-55 advantage. Before the Blazers made a cosmetic
surge and finished the quarter one point behind the Mavericks 73-72.
The Mavericks made a 10-4 run half way in the fourth quarter that widen their lead to 88-80 with more than five to go. Peja Stojakovic led the rally as he hit two three-pointers in the run. From there on, the Blazers started fading away and the Mavericks
went on to cap the game in their favour.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the sixth seed Portland with his 24 points together with 10 rebounds and three block shots.
Oklahoma City Thunder 106 – Denver Nuggets 89
Initially the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Denver Nuggets in the first half and then handled a few surges from the Nuggets’ in the second half to cruise past them in a 106-89 win.
Oklahoma City went 2-0 up in the seven game series. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led the Thunder, as together they tallied 44 points. Durant scored 23 and Westbrook had 21 points.
Thunder’s bench came up big in the game, as James Harden chipped in with 18 points, Serge Ibaka made 12 points and 12 rebounds to reach his double-double, while Kendrick Perkins clutched 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder was aggressive right from the tip, as they made the rush and outscored the Nuggets with a 31-15 run. OKC started the second quarter with the same pace and went 43-17 within the first four minutes of the second.
Nuggets coach George Karl said, "The first quarter really shook us."
The Thunder began the second half with a 15-point lead and went on stretching it they led by as many as 19, before the Nuggets were able to slash it down to 15 again at the close of the third quarter.
The Nuggets launched a spurt early in the fourth quarter that reduced the deficit to 10, but the Thunder withstood the run, as Durant and Westbrook took care of it by thumping 11 straight points and pushed the score to a 97-80, taking the game away from
the Nuggets.
Four Denver players made it into double figures, as Ty Lawson led the pack with his 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. Besides him, Nene Hilario and Raymond Felton had 16 points each.
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