Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant: Top performers from May 17th NBA playoff games
On May 17th, the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder and Dallas Mavericks came face to face in the game-1 of the Western Conference final series. Behind a brilliant performance from Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs stole the show on
the night. However, OKC’s ace forward Kevin Durant was not far behind. Let us take a quick look at what they did on the night and how they did it?
Nowitzki puts on a show
Dirk Nowitzki had a breath-taking game for the Mavericks in the series opener. He posted a game-high 48 points as Dallas beat the Thunder 121-112 at the American Airlines Center. The German giant had a terrific shooting performance.
He not only made a record-setting parade to the foul line by shooting a perfect 24-for-24, the most consecutive free throws in an NBA playoff game, but also went 12-for-15 from the field.
He was sensational down the stretch when Kevin Durant keyed OKC to a fight back. Nowitzki scored eight points in the last two minutes for the Mavs as they held on to a win. The sharp-shooting sensation also had six rebounds, four
assists, and four blocks.
Excited after the win, Nowitzki acknowledged the support of his teammates. He said, "I was really looking to shoot early and was able to get my rhythm after the first couple of shots," "I kept attacking and my teammates kept feeding
me and feeding me and I was able to take advantage over some smaller players."
Oklahoma City simply had no answer to stop Nowitzki. They appointed as many as players to guard him but none of them succeeded, not even 7-foot Serge Ibaka, over whom Nowitzki canned two exquisite jumpers in the final minutes.
Nowitzki made 13 free throws in the third quarter alone.
Kevin Durant’s performance in the OKC’s loss
Although Thunder lost the game-1, but Durant once again proved his brilliance with a team-high 40 points along with eight rebounds. The 22-year-old small forward finished with a 10-of-18 shooting from the field. The Thunder small
forward recorded 13 of his points in the final stanza as OKC tried to rally back. However, Nowitzki stood in their way.
The Thunder All-Star appreciated the tremendous performance of Nowitzki and said that they have to come up with effective defensive strategy against him in the next game. He said, "It is frustrating," "He is a good player -- he
makes shots. Makes off-balance shots. [We] just have to keep a hand in his face, keep on our concepts, and go from there. And hope the next game is different."
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