Dallas Mavericks rally late to knock out the Oklahoma City Thunder from the playoffs (Part-1)
The Dallas Mavericks came from behind once again to grab a victory in game-5 of the Western Conference Finals. The 100 – 96 loss ended Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder’s playoff run, while the Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals for the second time in their history.
It seemed the whole city turned up for the game and the enthusiasm inside the arena was infectious once Dallas closed it out. The Mavs second trip to the NBA Finals had everyone ecstatic, but their coach Rick Carlisle said his team would be focused for the challenge ahead,
"It's exciting, but my sense is we're grounded. We'll enjoy this moment for a day, watch the game tomorrow night and see where things are. We have a lot of work left to do."
Shawn Marion was the hero for the sell-out American Airlines Center crowd as he rolled back the years to deliver a vintage performance. Marion tied the team high for points with 26 and grabbed 8 rebounds. He also had 3 assists and the same number of blocks. Dirk Nowitzki, inevitably, had a big game and hit clutch shots in the end. He was the second player for the Mavs on 26 points while he also hauled down 9 boards.
Jason Terry and Jose Barea came off the bench to help out on offense for the Mavericks and scored 12 and 14 respectively. Rounding off the effort for Dallas was the man who kept them ticking throughout the game, Jason Kidd. Kidd scored only two points but controlled the tempo of the game as he dished out 10 assists and also had 7 rebounds.
Oklahoma City also had a number of good performances in a game that ultimately proved fruitless. Russell Westbrook led all scorers with 31 points and also had 8 rebounds. Kevin Durant had a steady display with 23 points and 9 rebounds. The Thunder also got some big contributions from their bench. Nick Collison stepped up with a double-double, scoring 12 and grabbing an identical number of rebounds, while James Harden managed 23 points during his time on the court.
Dallas started the stronger in their home court and raced to an 8-2 lead inside the first three minutes. However, OKC kept coming at them and clawed down the lead. In a free flowing first quarter, the lead changed hands on a total of 5 times before a James Harden jump shot closed it out at 27 – 26, advantage Thunder.
The second quarter started in the same manner, with the teams trading shots and the scores staying very close. OKC however, did manage to put some distance between them and the Mavs with an 8 – 2 run that gave them an eight point lead with 8:28 remaining. Dallas tried to cut the deficit down and they succeeded to some extent but failed to overtake OKC, who led throughout the quarter. The teams went into halftime at 55 – 52.
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