Dirk Nowitzki lands 48 as the Dallas Mavericks shoot down the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-112
Dirk Nowitzki launched a 48 point blitz as the Dallas Mavericks overwhelmed the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder 121-112 in the series opener of the Western Conference Finals at the American Airlines Center.
The German sharp-shooter played one of the best games of his career in the Mavericks’ uniform. Dirk put on a show with a mind boggling 12-of-15 shooting from the field, a perfect 24-of-24 from the charity stripe and also had six rebounds and four blocks in the victory. Guards Jason Terry and Jose Barea came off the bench with 24 and 21 points respectively for the Mavs. Shawn Marion also had 11 points but he fouled out after nearly 27 minutes of play.
Kevin Durant was the lone fighter for the Thunder with 40 points and eight rebounds. He lacked support from his teammates on the night though. Russell Westbrook only managed to score 20 points; Serge Ibaka had 17 points and six rebounds while James Harden ended with 12 points in the losing effort.
The Mavericks dominated right from the start and took a 10-3 lead, early in the first quarter. The Thunder however responded with a 10-2 run to take a one-point lead, 13-12, with 06:25 to go the opening quarter. The Thunder two-time All Star Kevin Durant scored 13 of his points in the first as Oklahoma City kept on striding and managed to take a 27-20 lead into the second.
Dallas bounced back in the second and tied the score at 37 with 06:45 remaining in the quarter. Nowitzki started to rumble by that time and the Mavs sprinted with a 55-48 lead into the break. Dallas continued to play offensively and led by as much as 15 points in the third quarter, taking a 90-79 lead into the final stanza.
Leading by 11 points after three, the Mavericks widened their lead to 104-89 with 6:59 remaining. The Thunder however comeback with a 10-0 spurt in the next few minutes and cut the deficit to five with 03:42 to go in the quarter. Nowitzki upped the ante at the juncture and scored eight in the last two minutes of the game to seal the victory for the Mavs.
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