The Dallas Mavericks sealed a victory against the Oklahoma City Thunders 111-103 on Wednesday night as Dirk Nowitzki grabbed a 3-pointer in the corner. He covered the long deficit that the Mavericks had longed to cover. The Thunders
were denied their five game winning streak by losing this game to the Dallas Mavericks.
Game Stats
The Dallas Mavericks scored 49 rebounds against the OKC’s 36. The Mavericks took 13 offensive rebounds and OKC covered eight. Both the teams took 12 turnovers. As for Dallas they covered three fast break points whereas the Thunders
covered 17. The Mavericks took the biggest lead by 14 points and the Thunders took the biggest lead by 11 points. The Mavericks covered 32 points in the paint and the Thunders covered 56.
Strong Links
Nowitzki scored 34 points alone and when he teamed with Jason Terry they scored 10 straight points in a span of 57 seconds. They put the Mavericks ahead of the Thunders in the final period and then they put a seal on it with a
12-0 run.
“And all of a sudden our offense came alive there in the fourth quarter.” Terry said later.
OKC forward Jeff Green was very impressive as he had 17 points on a 7 for 11, shooting at the 7:50 mark in the 3rd quarter. After that his luck failed him and for the rest of the game, Green was 0 for 2 and couldn’t
score.
Thunders
Kevin Durant scored 32 points as he led the Thunders but he was stopped in the fourth quarter before he snapped two dunks. Jeff Green contributed 17 points while Russell Westbrook scored 13 points and 10 assists for the Thunders.
U-Turn
The game took a u-turn in the direction of the Mavericks when in the fourth quarter Nowitzki came ahead and grabbed a 3-pointer while he was being fouled. The Thunders were leading with 90-83 before that. He finished his four point
play as he sank in to take a free throw. The Thunders missed a point when Nowitzki dunked in three more 3-pointers and added finishing touches with a 10-0 run.
“What always helps in this league is making big shots, and we got hot at the right time,” Nowitzki said proudly.
Quotable
"Dirk's four-point play really sparked us, that's what brought us back."
Carlisle said later.
Point to ponder
The Thunders were in the lead of the game for much of the time but they couldn’t control the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter and that’s when their chances to win started fading.
The Oklahoma City Thunders could not fight back the 10-0 run started by Nowitzki and Terry in the fourth quarter. They were in full control of the game just two nights earlier while playing against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Dallas was 5 for 21 on 3-pointers for almost three and a half quarters. Dallas went for a 4 for 5 long range during a span of three minutes midway through the fourth quarter.
Durant could not contribute much in the fourth quarter. He seemed to be put out as he scored only two points before he contributed a meaningless score towards the end of the quarter. He let the Thunders get a 90-83 lead as he went
back on his own fast break miss and left the game open for Nowitzki.
The Thunders had prevented the Dallas Mavericks from not making more than 20 points in the 3rd quarter on 6 for 23 (26.1%). However after that the Thunders’ defense faltered in the final frame and let the Mavericks score
36 points on 13 for 22 (59.1%) shooting.
Those who missed the game
The Mavericks guard Dominique Jones was not in the game. The Thunders center Cole Aldrich is in Tulsa sent for the NBDL.
Coming Up:
For the Mavericks, Friday @ San Antonio, Saturday vs. Heat, Monday vs. Rockets. For the Thunder, Friday @ Indiana, Sunday @ Houston, Monday vs Hornets.
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