Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: NBA Western Conference Finals Game-5 Preview
The Dallas Mavericks will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at American Airlines Centre, in Dallas. The Game -5 of their Western Conference Finals is extremely significant for both teams. The Mavericks want another
win to qualify for the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals while the Thunder will play to remain in the competition.
Although the best-of-seven series is favouring the Dallas Mavericks at the moment 3-1, but the Mavericks’ entire roster has not lost any concentration going into next game as they do not want to give any loop holes to the Thunder
in their next and important encounter.
The Mavericks’ head Coach Rick Carlisle also looked much confident when he stated in the media. Carlisle said, "I know that (the Thunder) are going to come in tomorrow and they're going to come back at us hard, as they've done
every game, we’ll have to play our best game to close them out. ... We've got to be careful about getting away with how happy we are."
On the other hand the Oklahoma City knows as they are facing a new shaped Maverick in this postseason. They not only outclassed the Thunder in three games, but they also silenced the youth power of the Thunder.
The Mavericks are currently leading the series 3-1 and for the Thunder this 3-1deficit is huge especially at this crucial time where all they need to just win if they want to stay in the Championships’ race. Only eight teams in
the history of NBA have pulled this 3-1 deficit and only two teams overcome this psychological 3-1 deficit on the road. The Houston Rockets did it in 1995 and the Boston Celtics did it way back in1968.
Now the Thunder has a big task ahead when they will combine their youth with experience on Wednesday in the Mavericks’ backyard at American Airlines Centre. Although the same youth and experience has brought them a bitter humiliation
in the Game-4, but this time around they will be trying hard to outdo their rivals.
The Game-4 was a lame performance by the Thunder down the stretch as they lost in overtime 112-105. The Mavericks’ were down with 15 points with only five minutes remaining in the game. From there-on the Thunder showed horrendous
ball play and could not hold on this 15 points’ advantage and lost the game.
The Thunder’s youth Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were not seen confident at-all. Conversely the Mavericks’ experience Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry stole the show with their breathtaking performances. Kidd scored 17 while
Nowitzki posted game high 40 points and helped their team to win this crucial win over the Thunder.
Nevertheless, the Oklahoma City Thunder was outplayed completely by the Mavericks in the last game, but the Thunder head Coach Scott Brooks is still showing a great confidence on his team. Brooks also spoke out in the media when
he said, "We can still make it a series, a backup point guard on the '95 Rockets. It's always about being mentally ready for the challenge, because it is a challenge. There's no question we have a big challenge tomorrow, but it's a challenge that our guys
will embrace."
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